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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
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2nd December 2025
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28th May 2012 Bucharest, Romania
Olympics for the Innocents
As part of our preparations for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, we have another guest blogger today. Rhys Osborne, Head of Registry at the British Embassy in Bucharest, kindly shared his impressions about a recent event supported by the Embassy. Last week I took part in an event hosted by Fundatia Inocenti. Established in […]
28th May 2012 London, UK
When two Prime Ministers met: an insider’s view
You’ve seen the photographs of the Prime Ministers outside the door of Number 10 Downing Street. But after the politicians and cameras have left, what does it add up to? I’m one of the behind-the-scenes people in London and Islamabad. You won’t see any of us in the photos, but we’re the ones who made […]
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28th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Falklands: a way forward?
I’m sitting next to a senior diplomat from a respected European country at dinner when conversation turns to the Falkland Islands, known to Spanish speakers as the Malvinas. “A key fact,” I say, “is that the 3,000 people who live in the Islands want to remain British.” “Ah,” says the top diplomat. “But how do […]
28th May 2012 Chevening, UK
Chevening Scholars meeting Her Majesty the Queen
Benedict Carandang is a Chevening Scholar from the Philippines pursuing his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Westminster. He currently resides at Goodenough College located in Bloomsbury, London. In our latest blog Benedict tells us about the time he met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. The Diamond Jubilee is coming up, […]
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28th May 2012 Warsaw, Poland
The UK in Poland – Where’s the Business Opportunity and more to the point where are we?
Today is a Great day – it marks a week long British Week in Poland to mark the 20th Anniversary Year of the British Polish Chamber of Commerce which culminates in The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration on the 4th June. Shortly after Poland and the UK embark on two global sporting spectacles – UEFA Euro […]
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25th May 2012 USA
Big Business: The Prime Minister in the Windy City
Chicago isn’t an easy city to impress. The undisputed commercial capital of the US Midwest (an economic area comparable in weight to Germany), the second US financial centre after New York, and President Obama’s home town, it is used to high level attention. But even The City Of Broad Shoulders paused for thought when confronted […]
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25th May 2012 Washington DC, USA
Our man in Florida
I guess everyone has a mental image of a place, born from reading books or watching films and TV. So when I travelled to Miami to meet up with the British Consul General, Kevin McGurgan, and his remarkable team, the tropical storm that greeted the plane when it tried to land the first time took […]
25th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
England fans are coming!
There’s growing excitement in England about the build-up to Euro 2012 in Ukraine. The British Embassy in Kyiv is working hard to ensure that the thousands of England fans we expect to visit during the championships are properly prepared for the visit with a “Know Before You Go” campaign. We’re also working hard to ensure […]
24th May 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
“We don’t have mango trees…”
On Saturday I was invited to the little village of Bhallah in the Punjab for the opening of a new road. I had never heard of Bhallah before, but it’s a village with lots of links to the UK. Councillor Mohammad Bhatti, MBE, comes from Bhallah. He moved to the UK in his 20s. He […]
24th May 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
Beauty and the beast: The Lebanese paradox
Monday marked 100 days until the London Paralympics. We had prepared a programme of events promoting the milestone, raising the profile of London and the UK, and encouraging greater focus on disability rights in Lebanon. But the disturbances of the weekend meant that we took a decision to focus on those instead. In a country […]
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