2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
13th October 2025
UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls: September visits to Sarajevo and New York
5th December 2018 beijing
When the World’s First Human Cyborg Came to Town!
Many of us have seen sci-fi films like Avatar and Pacific Rim where humans control robots by moving their own bodies. Well, this might not only live in fiction! The Science and Innovation Network (SIN) in the British Embassy Beijing had the honour of inviting Professor Kevin Warwick – also known as the World’s First […]
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4th December 2018 Skopje, North Macedonia
How much is enough – can we end violence against women in Macedonia?
Changing the statistics by raising awareness: as part of the global conversations in these #16DaysofActivism to raise awareness to end the gender based violence, we have asked Marija Bashevska, gender equality advocate to tell us what kind of effort is needed to end violence against women. Marija is currently president of the think-tank Reactor-Reasearh in Action in Macedonia. She is […]
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3rd December 2018
FLAGG at 20: reflections from the founders of the FCO’s LGBT+ staff association
Jonathan Drew: There are some things that need a very deep intake of breath before starting. Like writing to the PUS, six months into being a diplomat, to ask him to give his blessing to the formation of a staff LGBT+ group. On a cold November night twenty years ago, with some trepidation, I wrote that […]
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30th November 2018 Skopje, North Macedonia
How to make the perfect Shortbread this St Andrews Day
In the winter period when our days are cold and rainy we like to do cosy things and having a nice cup of tea with delicious home made cookies, bread or cake is one of them. For St Andrews day we asked our British colleagues to give us tips on some Scottish food which we […]
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29th November 2018
Ben Merrick: dealing with Mother Nature’s destruction after Hurricane Irma
When the people of the British Virgin Islands went to sleep on 5 September 2017, they knew a very large storm was approaching. But nothing could have prepared them for the devastation they would experience when Hurricane Irma made landfall the next day. The once crystal clear, turquoise waters would churn with debris and across […]
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29th November 2018
Sophie Lott: how the Forced Marriage Unit saves lives
I have spent 7 years working in the joint Home Office and Foreign Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU). As I walk into work, anticipating the type of calls I will handle today still brings a mixture of apprehension but also promise – knowing the unit, every day, has the potential to save lives. During my […]
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27th November 2018 Tripoli, Libya
Libya: UK leads the way as Libya re-opens for business
“The meetings in Aberdeen, in May, and this week in Tunis, have shown that the UK is a key partner for Libya in boosting oil production,” Mustafa Sanalla, Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), said at the recent trade mission hosted in Tunis by the Libyan British Business Council (LBBC). I could not have […]
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22nd November 2018 Abuja, Nigeria
Colourful, vibrant, booming Lagos: UK trade with Nigeria
When I tell people I live in Lagos, Nigeria, I often get quite a lot of quizzical looks… Why did you move there with your family? Is it safe? What about Boko Haram? Is corruption not endemic? As the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, I know that the challenges of corruption, insecurity and poverty […]
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22nd November 2018 New York, USA
Holding Russia to account at the United Nations: Russia’s role in blocking progress in Syria and flouting the rules of international law
The Syrian conflict has dragged on for seven long awful years. Over 400,000 people have been killed and half Syria’s population displaced. A terrible price has been paid by the Syrian people for the failure to make the Geneva Agreement of 2012 stick. This agreement identified steps for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a […]
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22nd November 2018 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Mongolia: small embassies can have a big impact
Mongolia is everything you expect. Mongolia is also everything you don’t expect. At least that’s what I found as the UK’s Ambassador. The world’s least densely populated country, which was once one of the largest empires in world history, it is a land of immense beauty and rich history. Mongolia is also a vibrant 21st […]
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