9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
5th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
New Oil from old Fields
Last week I was in Ţicleni in Gorj county to look at a major new British investment in Romania’s oil industry. Petrofac is one of the UK’s main suppliers of services in the oil industry, based in Aberdeen in Scotland. As of November 2010 it has taken a responsibility from Petrom for operating and developing […]
4th October 2011 Toronto, Canada
Science and Innovation Network Annual Report 2010-2011
The Science and Innovation Network’s Annual Report, covering activities from April 2010 to March 2011 inclusive, is out! You can download and read the report on the websites of both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, our parent ministries. You can see a collection of photographs from the report […]
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4th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A Pact for Growth
Dr. Vince Cable, the UK’s Minister for Business, Skills and Innovation, came to Bucharest last week with a very clear message – the EU has got to get back on the path to sustainable long term growth. And that means doing what the EU does best – free trade. Romania and the UK are both […]
4th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Between a Wall and a Hard Place
We stopped on a ridge overlooking a Palestinian valley. On the hill on the left a Jewish settlement with nest white houses and green gardens. On the right a fairly run-down Palestinian village. The valley was dry and stony sloping down to a water spring. Suddenly we saw a trail of smoke arching up into […]
4th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Changing seasons in Kyiv… and Vienna
When I was posted in Vienna from 1984-7 I enjoyed watching the signs that the seasons were changing. As an autumn chill crept into the air, the Viennese hailed the arrival of the “Russian crows” – big, capable-looking birds which would strut their stuff around the parks and squares of the city for a couple […]
3rd October 2011 New York, USA
The “Monster Month”
With one month to go until the New York City Marathon, I am about to enter what is often called the “Monster Month” – the month that involves the most intense, grueling and critical final weeks of training. It is said that a runner’s efforts during their “Monster Month” can make or break their success […]
3rd October 2011 New York, USA
The "Monster Month"
With one month to go until the New York City Marathon, I am about to enter what is often called the “Monster Month” – the month that involves the most intense, grueling and critical final weeks of training. It is said that a runner’s efforts during their “Monster Month” can make or break their success […]
3rd October 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
Cheap Seats, Backsliding and Cuban Democracy
As the September session of the Human Rights Council drew to a close on Friday, there were some glum faces around, especially amongst the NGOs. The NGOs provide a much needed reality check to the rest of us and I think it’s a fair criticism that civil servants are often all too ready to point […]
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3rd October 2011 Windhoek, Namibia
Of bovine beauty and unseasonable weather in Namibia
Being the head of a small diplomatic mission means I get to do an infinite variety of work each week. Never more so than today, when I had to award a prize for a cow. Not just any cow, but the most productive cow in Namibia. For this week is the Windhoek Industrial and Agricultural […]
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3rd October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
First ever British Business Groups’ national meet- ‘cautiously optimistic’
For the first time in living memory, and presumably ever, the British Business Groups (BBGs) around India held a national conference on 23-24 September 2011. Over 150 delegates took part, largely representing the BBGs in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Goa and Chennai. It is difficult to summarise the conclusions of such a large group, but […]
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