Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

3rd April 2012

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

The Taj – Reminders of Empire, re-making the British links

The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai is one of the prime landmarks of the city, overlooking the colossal Gateway to India, built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay prior to the historic Delhi Durbar held in December 1911.  Built by the founder of the Tata group over 100 […]

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2nd April 2012 Guatemala City, Guatemala

by David McNaught

Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy, Guatemala

History and human rights in Honduras

Guest blogging for me today is Lisa, our Political Officer who visited Copán, Honduras last week – not just to see the beautiful Mayan architecture at Copán Ruinas and enjoy the sunshine, but on serious business to visit an NGO project site!  Here she is with her report: This past year, our project funds for […]

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2nd April 2012 Washington DC, USA

A New Dawn for Sangin

I recommend you take a look at the latest blog written by Helmand’s new Head of Mission, Catriona Laing, on the recent DCC elections in Sangin. Famous for its dangerous past where many British and American soldiers lost their lives, Sangin now boasts its first ever District Community Council elections where over 2,000 people travelled […]

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2nd April 2012 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

Great Britons in Romania: Ian Tilling and Casa Ioana

Third in our series of Great Britons in Romania is Ian Tilling, founder of Casa Ioana, a charity devoted to Bucharest’s homeless. Guest blog by Ian Saunders, our colleague from the embassy. Ian arrived in Romania in 1990 and settled in Bucharest in 1992. His wish was to convert a block in a deprived area […]

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2nd April 2012

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Ring any bells?

Ever tried to play a Carillon? The Canberra Times said my chopsticks startled passers-by. But it’s hard to play a keyboard of pegs, which you have to hit with the heel of your hand to sound the mighty bells from a foundry in Loughborough. I was at the National Carillon on an island in Canberra’s […]

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1st April 2012

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

A life-changing experience

The Embassy’s Communications manager, Rana Nejem came back from London last week after accompanying four journalists from Jordan and Palestine to London. The feedback she got from them was so positive, that it seemed the perfect theme for a guest blog: “I cannot say it is a dream come true because I never even dreamed this […]

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31st March 2012 Harare, Zimbabwe

Catriona Laing

by Catriona Laing

British Ambassador to Zimbabwe

A New Dawn for Sangin?

Its not often in recent years that there has been a carnival type atmosphere in the Helmand district of Sangin. Internationally Sangin is known for the large number of ISAF casualties – 100 British, and many US Marine deaths since they took over the battlefield in 2010.   But this week saw a unique event […]

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30th March 2012 USA

Earth Hour at the British Embassy in Washington

The following is a guest post by Sangeeta Ahuja, First Secretary Energy, Environment & Resource Security at the British Embassy in Washington. Earth Hour starts at 8:30 in the  evening on Saturday 31 March. In a co-ordinated gesture last year to promote environmental protection, the lights were turned off in 5,200 cities in 135 countries […]

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30th March 2012 Guatemala City, Guatemala

by David McNaught

Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy, Guatemala

Howzat! Cricket in Guatemala

The sound of leather on willow, quintessentially British but now being heard around the fields of Guatemala thanks to the efforts of a friend of this Embassy, Luke Humphries, who, with his dad and some eager friends, have launched Guatemala’s first Cricket Club. His guest blog, below, reveals all. But be warned: cricket comes with […]

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29th March 2012 Lima, Peru

Ecobuild: cost effective low carbon designs, products and solutions

By Juan Luis Reus, Deputy Director UKTI, Peru Time flies they say and that is true at Ecobuild (20to 22 March), the world’s largest event for sustainable design, construction and the build environment. Two days had passed at ExCel, where this huge world class event was being held when I wrote this second blog. Huge […]

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