18th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Guest blog by the Embassy’s Economic Attaché. One thing we hear a lot about these days is regulation. Regulation this, regulation that, it can be good or bad, national or international, too much or not enough. Views may depend on where you stand: employer or employee, big multinational or local SME, left or right or […]
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17th October 2013
Ottawa, Canada
The following blog is by our guest blogger, Lorne Grant who recently won 1st place at the UKTI Global Graduate Entrepreneurs’ Festival . Lorne is the owner of the shipping service company, Latharn Ltd. My Experience at the UKTI Global Graduate Entrepreneurs’ Festival in Manchester, UK By Lorne Grant On September 4th, I left Fort […]
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16th October 2013
Toronto, Canada
16 October is Blog Action Day, during which thousands of bloggers from all over the world write on a common theme. The theme for 2013 is Human Rights – the fundamental freedoms that all people are entitled to simply by virtue of being human; largely enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights […]
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16th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human rights is the theme of this year’s Blog Action Day, which falls today. So in this blog, I’d like to focus on the link between human rights, development and doing business. Recently, our Foreign Secretary William Hague talked about ‘Good Business: Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.’ He outlined our […]
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10th October 2013
Ottawa, Canada
A study co-produced by my colleagues in Washington, TTIP and the Fifty States, got me thinking about the benefits to be had from a conclusion to both CETA negotiations and the recently started TTIP talks …
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9th October 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
A former British Ambassador here was asked at the end of a radio interview what he would like for Christmas. Thinking it typical Lebanese generosity but not wanting to be too greedy, he gave a modest reply. Listening to the broadcast later, he was shocked to hear several envoys asked the same question. The US […]
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4th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A blog co-authored with Nadia Hashmi, human rights lead at the British Embassy in Ankara Did you know that diamonds are the most tightly-regulated trade item in the world? The reason is to combat human rights violations which could potentially be involved in their acquisition. Human rights and trade can seem strange bedfellows. Sometimes people argue […]
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29th August 2013
USA
It is rare to witness the moment when an inventor sees his dreams realised; the culmination of years of testing, adapting and perfecting inventions suddenly paying off. I had the pleasure of witnessing one of those extraordinary moments while attending the 33rd National Veterans Wheelchair Games last month in Tampa, Florida. When I visited Tampa […]
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27th August 2013
Ottawa, Canada
I will admit trade policy isn’t always edge-of-your-seat material, but lately it has been getting its fair share of press. From a new Director-General at the World Trade Organisation, to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and the start of bilateral trade talks between the EU and US, there are a lot of potential game changers for global trade on the horizon. . .
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26th August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On Saturday I was pleased to be asked to address the graduation of the final and 7th Cohort of Ethiopian Open University (OU) MBA students at Addis Ababa University. This was just the latest manifestation of a long-standing bilateral educational relationship. The collaboration between the UK and Ethiopia in education stretches all the way back […]
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