19th October 2018 Beirut, Lebanon
As Fayruz says….. bhebak ya lebnan. “Ahla wa sahla saadet el safir” said my welcoming team at the airport – “shoukran, please call me Chris, and do speak to me in Arabic” I said back. That was only 5 weeks ago – it seems much further back. Lebanon has a reputation for outstanding hospitality, stunning […]
Read more on Lebanon at first sight…my first month as British Ambassador | Reply
2nd November 2015 Havana, Cuba
This week sees FIHAV take place. As in previous years, hundreds of companies from all around the world will converge on Havana, brandishing their wares and exhibiting their widgets. This year though FIHAV will be even bigger and even better. The rapprochement between the US and Cuba, the new investment law and the launch of […]
Read more on Cuba & FIHAV; Trade and Investment in a Tough Neighbourhood | Reply (1)
16th June 2015 Havana, Cuba
I’ve written before about how more internet access for more Cubans is likely to spur economic growth so the rollout of the internet to more parts of the country is welcome. New internet cafes have been opened – although they are still relatively expensive – and wifi is being provided in a few parks in Trinidad, […]
Read more on What would Karl Marx have thought about the internet? | Reply (1)
12th June 2015 Havana, Cuba
Last week, we held the first #BritTalk in my house. In a fascinating presentation, Lord David Triesman, in Havana on business, shared his experiences of working with FIFA and Sepp Blatter when he was Chair of the Football Association. The audience was gripped by Lord Triesman’s tales of sleaze and abuse of power, by his […]
5th March 2015 Budapest, Hungary
Guest blog by Kriszti Kocsis, Senior Policy Officer (Energy, Climate and Environment) at the British Embassy in Budapest, organiser of the New Climate Economy Conference in Budapest. The New Climate Economy Conference in Budapest on 25 February was a joint project of the Association of Hungarian Economists and the British, German and French Embassies. The event was unique […]
Read more on Climate Driving Economic Growth? – The New Climate Economy Conference in Budapest | Reply
16th December 2014
I recently had the honour to speak on a panel at a Financial Times Conference on International Financial Centres in Istanbul. The conference included an interesting presentation by Turkey’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT) on Turkey’s powerful economic fundamentals and the potential benefits for foreign businesses in investing here. British companies have been paying […]
Read more on How to get (even) more investment in Turkey | Reply
8th December 2014 Havana, Cuba
I was pleased to be able to visit Cuba’s new ‘Special Development Zone’ in Mariel recently. Mariel is a central element in the Cuban government’s plan to attract more much-needed foreign investment and seeing it first-hand is something I have wanted to do for a while. Several British businessmen, interested in investing in Cuba, have […]
4th July 2014 Toronto, Canada
As we look forward to Toronto’s Smart Week 2014 in October, it’s worth reviewing what’s been going on in the UK around the Internet of Things. Briefly, the term Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the rapid proliferation of network-enabled devices and the Internet-like structures that enable them to communicate with each other. For example, […]
24th May 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
Today I visited the Presidential Palace to thank President Sleiman for his leadership. Throughout his mandate he has led Lebanon with great dignity and wisdom, and worked tirelessly for unity and consensus. He has just left the building. In theory, a new President should be preparing to arrive, making the last adjustments to his or […]
Read more on An Apology, and a Lebanese Manifesto | Reply (7)
15th May 2014 Washington DC, USA
May is World Trade Month: a time to recognize the benefits of international trade and its impact on our everyday lives. That got me thinking about my own personal history and how it has been shaped and moulded by international trade. My grandfather first came to Pennsylvania from England as a child refugee of WWII. […]