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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
9th December 2025
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2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
1st December 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visit to Vologodskaya region, home of Russia’s largest steel company and the first Russian Ambassador to Britain
Vologodskaya region is at the southern end of my consular district, Russia’s large North West Federal District. The two main cities are the regional administrative centre, Vologda, and the industrial centre, Cherepovets. Both lie approximately half way between Moscow and St Petersburg. I was keen to see and hear more about this region of Russia, […]
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30th November 2016 Holy See
Global Saint Andrew
How did a simple Galilean fisherman come to be the patron saint of Scotland? The Gospel of John tells us that Andrew heard John the Baptist refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God. “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him “We have found the Messiah” (that is […]
30th November 2016 Vienna, Austria
What connects St Andrew’s Day and a cricket-ball death?
30 November is St Andrew’s Day, named after the Patron Saint of Scotland. St Andrew offers continuity across cultures: he was crucified at Patras, in modern-day Greece, and his body was taken to Constantinople before being transferred to Amalfi in Italy in the 13th Century. Language Teaching Assistant Dan explains St Andrew’s Day The official […]
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29th November 2016 Vienna, Austria
Beauty and Remembrance in Carinthia
The grass is perfect. Rows of tombstones stand in rows. Two Austrian musicians play “The Last Post”. I was honoured recently to attend Remembrance Day commemorations at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Klagenfurt, in Austria. The cemetery contains 589 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. Most died on Austrian territory as prisoners of […]
29th November 2016 London, UK
Edinburgh: 70 years of innovation across our festivals
“In 1947 in Edinburgh a unique idea was born. The Edinburgh Festivals, led by the Edinburgh International Festival, began as an initiative for humanity, at a time when inhumanity had done its worst through the extended global conflict of WWII. A beacon of enlightenment and creativity was lit with the birth of the world’s leading festival […]
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29th November 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Remembering Sybille
Ghidigeni is a village, easily overlooked, in southern Moldova, just off the main road between Tecuci and Barlad. Just next door to the town hall a locked metal gate stands in front of the Chrissoveloni Palace, built in the late 19th century in a French neoclassical style, but having endured a particularly tough history. I […]
29th November 2016 Holy See
How the Vatican does Foreign Policy
One of the things that I have been struck by since starting in Rome in August is the difference in how the Vatican does foreign policy compared to the UK (or indeed most countries). In some ways our foreign policy structures are similar. In the Vatican the Pope decides the policy line; in London, ministers […]
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29th November 2016 Beijing, China
Witnessing the development of Chinese Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV)
Connected and autonomous vehicles (or CAV for short) will bring huge changes to the way we travel, the way we transport goods, and to the quality and safety of travel. It is an area that China is making rapid progress in, as I saw when I attended the launch of the I-VISTA Intelligent Vehicle Integrated […]
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28th November 2016 London, UK
Tackling the stigma of sexual violence
25 November marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. As the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, I have seen first-hand the impact of sexual violence against women and girls in countries like Bosnia, Burma, Colombia, DRC, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. I have seen the […]
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28th November 2016 Beijing
UK and China Join Hands in Agri-Tech Innovation
MOU Signing, witnessed by Michelle McIlveen, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister and Holly White, Science Counsellor in British Embassy China Agriculture has dominated China’s economy for as long as its history can tell. Although its share of GDP dropped to 9% recently, Agri-Tech has become more crucial for the country to feed its 1.4 billion people […]
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