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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
5th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australia in the Asian Century: mutual challenges and opportunities
The Australian government published a White Paper last week setting out strategic directions for “Australia in the Asian Century”. It outlined things Australia needs to do to increase its orientation towards the rising Asian countries, and things it needs to do domestically to improve its economic competitiveness in the face of ever more intense competition. […]
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5th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
"Never, Ever Again…"
…I read on the statue outside the “Red Terror” Martyrs’ Memorial Monument museum in Meskel Square, Addis Ababa, when I visited recently. The motto reflects Ethiopia’s determination never again to allow the terror that flourished under the Derg military junta in 1977-8 to be repeated. Under Mengistu Haile Mariam, who still lives in exile in […]
2nd November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Global Church
I often have to remind people that I am not accredited to the Vatican City State, but to the Holy See. This is an important difference. It means being accredited to the governance of the global Catholic Church including its 5,000 bishops, its capillary networks of nuncios, priests, religious and Catholic NGOs around the world, […]
1st November 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Businessmen and Saints
Last week was taken up with the annual session of the Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council, known as UBTIC. It brings together representatives of British companies working or interested in working in Uzbekistan, and of Government Ministries and state holding companies on the Uzbek side. It’s the biggest event of the commercial year for us, […]
1st November 2012 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Chevening Scholarships: Free, Chevening Experience: Priceless
What would you say if I told you that you could receive an all-expenses paid scholarship to a world-renowned British university and have the chance to join a global network of future leaders from a range of fields and industries? You would want to know more, wouldn’t you? Well, the British High Commission in Kuala […]
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31st October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Different kinds of inspiration
Being an Ambassador involves many different experiences. Going to see the new James Bond film was exhilarating, but even better was meeting members of the Swedish Paralympic team from London 2012 last Friday night. I’ve written in this space before about the spirit of the Paralympics, but to meet the individuals who embody it was […]
31st October 2012 London, UK
Vocational English: building a bridge between education and industry.
Does anyone own the English language? Of course not, thank Goodness! Though I sometimes wish there were an “Acronym Authority”. Those questions cropped up in workshops I attended last week with 240 teachers from vocational and technical schools all over Brunei. The event was funded by the Ministry of Education, who have prioritised VTET – […]
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30th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ground Breaking IEA Iraq Study
The International Energy Agency, a sister organisation to the OECD, has been doing some of the world’s leading energy analysis for years, much of it captured in its renowned annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) publication. In recent years its in-depth country studies of Chinese, Indian and Russian energy sectors have been important new contributions to […]
29th October 2012 Paris, France
Our cooperation on crisis management
I wanted to talk to you this week about Franco-British cooperation on crisis management. I had the good fortune to go at the end of last week to the joint naval exercises held off Toulon, in the Mediterranean. This is all part of a process launched at the Lancaster House talks in 2010, where we […]
29th October 2012 Vientiane, Laos
Opening the British Embassy in Vientiane
The Foreign Secretary announced in April 2012 his intention to re-open our Embassy to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (closed in 1985). Colleagues at the FCO in London have pretty much moved heaven and earth since then to make it happen. I arrived in Vientiane on 12 October, just two months after I received the […]
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