Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

10th February 2011

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Trade and Investment: the case for open markets

I wrote recently in the Bolivian newspaper La Razon about the importance of free trade and the Doha Round of trade negotiations. As Prime Minister David Cameron has said, 2011 is a “make or break” year: we go forward, boosting free trade and global prosperity, or backwards to the dark ages of protectionism and beggar-thy-neighbour. […]

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10th February 2011

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by Martin Harris

Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to Russia

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech is the film of the year, with 12 nominations for the Oscars and it goes on general release in Romania on Friday 11 February. I had a privileged pre-viewing at the Movieplex Cinema on Monday evening. I loved this film! It is a very moving story of a figure in British history […]

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9th February 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Delivering on Trade and Investment

Today the British Government launches its Trade and Investment White Paper. This is our statement to our trade and investment partners across the world, including Hungary, about how we plan to work together for mutual benefit. It’s about: Maximising the opportunities for businesses in the UK to trade and invest, and attracting investment to the […]

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9th February 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Creating jobs the practical way

On Friday the Embassy was packed with Mayors and Deputy Mayors from across the country, engaging with senior staff and managers from Tesco. It was a chance for this British-based company to thank them for all those two-way, mutually satisfactory arrangements that exist in many Hungarian towns and cities where there are Tesco stores. And […]

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9th February 2011

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

How to create wealth

At a recent press conference at the residence about the British Business Days in Ukraine a journalist asked me when the UK would actually start making investments in Ukraine in factories that produced things.  I said there were a number of examples of such production, whether in manufacturing, agriculture or energy production; but that one […]

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7th February 2011 New York, USA

Super Brits

Guest blog: Catrin Brace, Board Member at BAFTA New York Photo credit: BAFTA East Coast. The Sheriff of Nottingham, Hannibal Lecter and even Jeremy Iron’s portrayal of Scar in The Lion King are all British villains, but it seems we are not the rogues anymore. Gone are the days where the Brits are the ‘baddies’. […]

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7th February 2011

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Skills for millions

A guest blog from Margaret Jack, Director, British Council Ukraine Sixty Education Ministers developing policies for half a billion young people to help ensure that progress beyond the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals will improve the competitiveness of nations.  This was the World Education Forum in London last month. Education Ministers on the steps of […]

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4th February 2011 New York, USA

Brits at Belleayre 2011

Guest blog: British Army Captain Nick Binnington, talks about the Race for Veterans in Belleayre, where the British Consulate-General New York helped raise $6600 for veterans injured at war. Returning from leave mid-January, I opened my Inbox and, amongst the various e-mails, there was one from Clare Risman, the organiser of Brits at Bellayre Race for […]

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4th February 2011

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Brilliant energy-saving photography

Check out these terrific photographs.  They are the winners and honourable mentions of a photo competition called “Save Energy! Stop Climate Change! run by the British Embassy in Kyiv between October and December 2010. The aim of the campaign, about which I blogged in November, is to show the benefits of energy-saving measures both for […]

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4th February 2011

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

A cabinet minister for whom India is his second home

We welcomed to Mumbai in January the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable. He came with an extensive professional and personal knowledge of India, and indeed affection for the country.   He was happily married for thirty five years, until her death, to a lady whose parents were from Goa, and […]

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