Getting our marching orders in London

I’m back in the UK for the annual Leadership Conference that brings together all our ambassadors from around the world, to be updated on the policy and corporate management priorities which will  focus our work over the coming year.

The strongest message was the importance of the Prosperity agenda, the work that our overseas FCO and UKTI networks do to help promote growth and jobs in the UK economy. We heard this loud and clear from the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary. The CBI President and other business leaders whom we met, confirmed that they have seen a significant increase in our impact in this area, although clearly there is much more to do. I was pleased to report that we’re doing our bit in Australia with UK exports up 32% last year.

William Hague looked back with pride on a year in which the FCO had been “running hot” with major surges of activity around issues like the Arab Spring, Somalia and Burma. He talked about the network shift, as our resources are reprioritised towards the emerging economies in Asia Pacific and elsewhere. There were also sessions on the corporate services efficiencies which are enabling us to maintain front line activities against the backdrop of heavy public spending pressures. We’ve certainly been part of that in Australia over the past year, with our passport and visa operations migrating to more cost effective regional hubs elsewhere, and most corporate functions moving out to a private sector facilities management company.

We also had a really inspiring presentation on the Olympics and Paralympics from Culture, Media and Sports Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Seb Coe. Being back in London now you really get a sense of the growing buzz of excitement as Britain gets ready to welcome the world this summer.

I’m always struck at these conferences by two things. First, the extraordinary reach and range of the FCO: you meet colleagues from almost every country in the world, from tiny one-man posts to big networks in countries like China; from dynamic emerging economies to war-ravaged poverty zones. And the range of specific activities they’re involved in, under our three guiding priorities of prosperity, security and consular, is immense. My second observation is how colleagues and friends you’ve worked with for the last 25 years look a bit older each year; and then you look in the mirror and remember it’s not just them.