17th May 2024
Reflections on IDAHOBIT: International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
13th May 2024
Value with Values: UK Commitment to Climate Partnership
25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
11th June 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Second tier cities, first class business opportunities
Many people are talking about India’s ‘Second Tier’ cities. The phrase doesn’t strike me as the kindest, with the hint that they haven’t quite made the grade. But it is commonly used, to differentiate the large number of growing two million plus cities from the huge metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. I visited briefly […]
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11th June 2010 New York, USA
Explorers Here, Climate Map There, Penguins Everywhere
Today a guest blog from Clare Risman, Vice Consul for Devolved Administrations at the Consulate. Growing up in London, the Natural History Museum was one of my favourite places. My children share a similar sense of excitement and wonder at the delights of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) – their imaginations have been inspired […]
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9th June 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The toughest exam in Ukraine
What’s the toughest thing you can do to a Ukrainian student sitting an important English oral exam? How about bringing in the British ambassador to watch your conversational efforts, together with the head of the training institute and a photographer? That’s what happens when I visit the Kharkiv Aviation University and am shown round the […]
7th June 2010 New York, USA
The Summer Season Begins
A short working week last week, with the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. Memorial Day and Fleet week are big events in the life of one of our most important New York Partners, the Intrepid museum, with whom we work closely on veterans issues. Welcome to Yorkshire have been busy promoting Yorkshire as great […]
4th June 2010 London, UK
24 hours in Brussels
I spent 24 hours in Brussels earlier this week for a packed schedule of meetings. As a city, Brussels has a somewhat unfair reputation for being rather dull and grey. I know from previous visits that there are some charming aspects to the place. Sadly on this occasion I saw little more than the inside […]
28th May 2010 New York, USA
The Poles North and South
Biggest news from the Consulate this week is the opening of the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibit on the Anatarctic expeditions of Scott and Amundsen to the South Pole. Why is the Consulate involved? Leaving aside the compelling history of the "race to the Pole", it’s a great way for us to get […]
28th May 2010 London, UK
My first two weeks as Minister for Europe
It was almost two weeks ago that the Prime Minister asked me to join the new coalition Government as Minister for Europe at the Foreign Office. Within two hours I was in my new office meeting my staff and planning briefings. I last worked in the FCO 20 years ago, when I was political adviser […]
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27th May 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
The sky’s the limit
Whatever else Pakistanis may think about India, the evidence of economic growth there is hard to deny. Last week I visted Gurgaon, the new city outside New Delhi. It is mushrooming. Twelve years ago, when I last took a look, it practically wasn’t there. Now it has all the shopping malls, office blocks and building […]
26th May 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
From Manchester to Mumbai – Bringing life to new Indian retail outlets
My aim for this new blog is to provide snapshots every two weeks from Mumbai illustrating the vibrancy of UK–Indian business relations. I am fortunate to meet in my job hundreds of UK and Indian businesspeople, ranging from the heads of some of the UK’s largest companies, and India’s ( and the world’s!) richest businessmen, […]
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22nd May 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The new government and the British Week in Mexico
“British Week is part of the Think Britain campaign to publicize what’s going in Britain, what’s happening with British here in Mexico, to encourage more trade, to encourage more visits, just to get a better understanding and knowledge between our two countries…”. Watch this video in Spanish
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