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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
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2nd February 2012 London, UK
Croatia moves closer to joining the EU
On 22 January the people of Croatia made history by making a clear choice in favour of joining the European Union. The finishing line of 1 July 2013 is in sight, and Croatia is on course to become the 28th member of the EU, after it first applied nine years ago. The next step is […]
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1st February 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Calls in London
I’m still in London, making a series of calls on government officials, business representatives and others with links to Australia. Describing some of my meetings below will give you a flavour of the enormous diversity of UK/Australian interests we engage with. I visited Ramsay Healthcare, a major Australia provider which operates around 40 hospitals and […]
1st February 2012 Washington DC, USA
The Enduring UK-Afghan Partnership
President Karzai was in London this past weekend with Prime Minister Cameron signing the Enduring Strategic Partnership between the UK and Afghanistan. The Partnership is a quick read – only four sides of paper – but it lays out the fundamentals of the UK’s relationship with the Afghan people for the foreseeable future. That’s important […]
1st February 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
The cricket has been great!
Great cricket! Pakistan’s that is. Some of Pakistan’s media described Pakistan’s crushing win over England in the second Test in Dubai as a miracle. To a non-cricketer like me, it didn’t look like a miracle. It looked like a very professional demolition job by some fine spin bowlers. Of course I would have liked England […]
31st January 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A "pastoral" visit to Northern Ireland
It is incumbent upon British ambassadors to understand the country that they serve. Which is why I spent much of last week in Northern Ireland, following similar “pastoral” tours in England and Scotland (Wales is still to do). I also took the opportunity to visit Dublin, given the fact that both the Roman Catholic and […]
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31st January 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
African Summitry
For the past week, the African Union (AU) Summit has been taking place in Addis Ababa, building up to a weekend meeting of Heads of Government and State. What has this to do with Britain? Well, we are partners and observers of the AU (I am the UK Permanent Representative to the organisation, as well […]
31st January 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Which way out?
Romania’s former Foreign Minister, Andrei Plesu, commented yesterday on the tough economic conditions facing Romania and quoted Caragiale “From this dilemma we have no way out”. Certainly the economic outlook looks a bit like Bucharest’s roads did last week, blocked at every junction and with more snow on the way. Growth forecasts are being revised […]
31st January 2012 Dublin, Ireland
Freezing in Kraków
Winter has arrived with a vengeance! But that is no reason to stop travelling around the regions which are one of the engines of Polish growth. Krakow is well known already to large numbers of British tourists. Fewer people know how many UK companies already take advantage of the skilled workforce in the region and […]
30th January 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
Lebanon 2020
There is a joke that does the rounds in Beirut. Q: ‘What’s the definition of Lebanese long term thinking?’ A: ‘See you tomorrow’. Like many Lebanese jokes, there is truth in this. Of course, a focus on the short term is understandable, given the conflicts of the past, the volatility of the region, the interference […]
30th January 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
Celebrating Connections
Variety is one of the things I love about my job. It comes from the huge range of issues, people and types of engagement that connect the UK to Pakistan. We have just launched a multi-month communications campaign to celebrate that variety. It is called Celebrating Connections and it is in the media, on our […]