1st October 2026
A Year Too Big for Two Suitcases: Notes From a Chevening Scholar
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
11th May 2026
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: turning a global ocean agreement into UK law
9th April 2026
The Gulf, Berlin and the Commission on the Status of Women: building global alliances to advance women’s progress
1st March 2017 Delhi, India
Second roundtable on feasibility of establishing a national IP court in India
A second roundtable conference on the feasibility of establishing a single national IP court in India was organised by IIT Kharagpur in December 2016. The 2nd roundtable, co-chaired by sitting Calcutta High Court Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Soumen Sen, was held 8 months after the first, and was predominantly to understand the opinions of […]
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1st March 2017 Delhi, India
Seminar on understanding the aesthetic value of IP-designs
Earlier this month, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a seminar on the value of industrial designs, in collaboration with the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) in New Delhi. The seminar was part of CII’s Annual Knowledge Expo, and was therefore able to see participation from several representatives from the industry and academia. […]
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28th February 2017 Vienna, Austria
At the hinge of Europe: stunning Vorarlberg
What has been the most unexpected hit video I have put on Twitter during my time as Ambassador in Vienna? The answer is, indeed, not what you would expect. I recently visited the most westernmost province of Austria, Vorarlberg. Lying on Lake Constance (known in German as the Bodensee), and bordering Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, […]
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27th February 2017 London, UK
The UK Presidency of the UN Security Council
The United Kingdom will take on the Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of March. This will be our 62nd Security Council Presidency, a position that rotates between each of the 15 members of the Council monthly. The UK’s first Presidency was in 1946. At that time conflict prevention was top of […]
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22nd February 2017
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Relevant, Responsive and Responsible Democracy
Democracy…..has the disadvantage of merely counting votes not weighing them. (Dean Inge 1860-1954) Meeting in Paris in 1990 the states of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, forerunner of the OSCE, heralded ‘A New Era of Democracy, Peace and Unity’: We undertake to build, consolidate and strengthen democracy as the only system of […]
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22nd February 2017 Skopje, North Macedonia
Кон мојата посета на Македонија
Откако Обединетото Кралство изгласа да ја напушти Европската Унија, често добивам едно исто прашање од луѓето кои ги среќавам надвор од земјата: – Што значи ова за мојата земја? Мојот одговор е секогаш ист – Британија ќе ја напушти Европската Унија, но ние не ја напуштаме Европа. Сакам оваа порака да ја донесам на мојата […]
22nd February 2017 Skopje, North Macedonia
Në prag të vizitës në Maqedoni
Nga momenti që Mbretëria e Bashkuar votoi të largohet nga Bashkimin Evropian, njerëzit që i kam takuar jashtë shtetit shpesh më kanë pyetur të njëjtën pyetje: Çfarë do të thotë kjo për vendin tim? Përgjigjja ime është gjithmonë e njëjta, Mbretëria e Bashkuar largohet nga Bashkimi Europian por nuk e lëshon Europën. Në vizitën time […]
22nd February 2017 Skopje, North Macedonia
Ahead of my visit to Macedonia
Since the UK voted to leave the European Union, I am often asked the same question by the people I meet overseas: What does this mean for my country? Every time my answer is the same, the UK will be leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe. On my first visit to […]
21st February 2017 London, UK
0 to 50 in 3 years
Many of us have had second-hand cars that take that long to get from 0 to 50! But add a “K” to the 50 and you have a description of the British Ambassador to Turkey, Richard Moore’s Twitter journey since he arrived in Turkey in January 2014. Richard was recently proclaimed by Turkey’s biggest selling […]
21st February 2017 Vienna, Austria
Up and down the mountain: a guide to Tyrolean Dialect
My introductory video from last September noted the importance of visiting all parts of Austria; and of the dialects spoken in different regions. You can watch me attempting to learn the wonderful and challenging Tyrolean dialect in the video above. Clearly it’s easier in a snowstorm; up a mountain; in the cable-car going down; or, […]
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