4th October 2011
We stopped on a ridge overlooking a Palestinian valley. On the hill on the left a Jewish settlement with nest white houses and green gardens. On the right a fairly run-down Palestinian village. The valley was dry and stony sloping down to a water spring. Suddenly we saw a trail of smoke arching up into […]
15th September 2011
Today is International Day of Democracy. In the UK we believe that democracy rests on respect for every individual in society, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other status. In fact this forms an indivisible part of our foreign policy. Through the work of the FCO we support not only electoral processes but […]
25th August 2011
In the following guest blog, Collette Weston, Deputy Head – UK Trade and Investment (Western India), bids a fond farewell to her Mumbai team, Mumbai and India. I got caught in a traffic jam on my way home from work the other day. I am sure most of the other bloggers on the FCO platform […]
8th August 2011 Toronto, Canada
This is John Preece guestblogging about a recent trip to the University of Western Ontario for the official opening of the Centre for Brain and Mind (see also Lara Kaute’s post from July 29th). The Centre boasts some 20 principal investigators, including Dr. Adrian Owen (Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging and […]
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29th July 2011 Ottawa, Canada
This is the SIN intern Lara Kaute sharing her impressions of the official opening of the Centre for Brain and Mind at the University of Western Ontario in London. Read on for an overview of the Centre, the work that goes on there and the staff. On Monday July 25th, John and I attended the […]
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27th July 2011 Ottawa, Canada
On my most recent trip to London, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office‘s (FCO’s) Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA), Professor David Clary. We took this opportunity to put together a video blog with his thoughts on science diplomacy, while enjoying a bit of sun in St. James’s Park. Here’s what […]
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4th July 2011
I came across a neat quotation the other day: “Corruption is nature’s way of restoring our faith in democracy.” That sounds snappy and amusing but it made me think about what it really means, especially as the scourge of corruption is mentioned frequently in the media and is one of the main demands of people […]
9th June 2011 London, UK
This week I made my first visit to Sarajevo, where I met members of the Presidency, the Speaker and members of Parliament as well as young people involved in the arts, business and civil society. I was there to underline our concern at the lack of political progress since the general elections last year. We […]
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20th April 2011
I made two visits recently to the State of Gujarat in Western India, both of which underline the enormous potential for UK companies in India, and the scale of developments here. At the end of March a team from our trade and investment operation in Mumbai travelled to Surat, the second largest city in Gujarat, […]
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30th March 2011
I’ve been in Warsaw this week meeting Polish and British colleagues and having my first good look around the city since I first visited it in 1987. It’s always interesting to compare neighbours, and the comparison between Poland and Ukraine tells us a good bit about both. This is particularly relevant as the negotiations on the proposed […]
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