28th March 2013 London, UK
I must be in hundreds of photos seen by people around the world. Not because I’m some global celebrity, but because I regularly walk or cycle over the bridge by the Houses of Parliament in London. Each time I do, I end up in the photos of tourists lining up to take pictures of the […]
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5th March 2013
I often host or attend events where we begin by saying that the discussion is based on “Chatham House Rules”, ie any comments made cannot be attributed to individuals outside of the meeting. So it was a great pleasure to host a visit by Lord Williams, the leading Asia scholar from Chatham House (London’s Royal […]
26th February 2013
A guest blog by Peter Spoor, Head of Press and Projects Team at the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey On a recent visit to Diyarbakir in Turkey’s south east, I was struck by how much the violence and terrorism of the past thirty years has blighted the region’s development. Business leaders I met spoke of the […]
11th February 2013
I was privileged to chair Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr’s Magna Carta lecture, an annual event organised by the British High Commission here. Each year we ask a prominent figure to speak about a modern issue relevant to the values enshrined in the 1215 charter, often described as the greatest constitutional document of all time. […]
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9th January 2013 Nairobi, Kenya
A year ago, few predicted that Somalia would see such significant changes; yet 2012 saw some real progress in Somalia – including the end of the Transition; a new Parliament (with a significant number of new MPs); the election of a new, reform-minded Speaker and President and a desire for a different type of politics. […]
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13th December 2012
A guest blog by Louise Taylor, EU Political Officer at the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey As EU Political Officer, I have been following Turkey’s EU accession process closely since I arrived in Ankara last March. So I am pleased to see that EU Ministers agreed positive conclusions at the General Affairs Council on Enlargement on […]
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12th December 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
This has been a fortnight of International Days. Disability Rights Day, Anti-Corruption Day, Human Rights Day. Probably more that I’ve missed. In each case, the issues at stake are too important for Lebanon, and the rest of us, to be ignored. So, on Disability Rights Day, I teamed up with Fadi El Halabi, the inspirational […]
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20th November 2012
Advanced modern economies face similar challenges. How can governments respond to rising consumer expectations and ageing populations, against a backdrop of financial pressures? Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude came to discuss some of these issues with Australian counterparts. He visited a CentreLink in Sydney, the shopfront offices where Australians go for Medicare, social security and […]
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9th November 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
This weekend, Beirut will come together for the marathon. There is no more striking example of unity, common purpose and the best of the Lebanese spirit. The road is a great leveller – it does not ask your confessional group or political allegiance. A small group of Ambassadors always join in, slowly. This year, they […]
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5th November 2012
The Australian government published a White Paper last week setting out strategic directions for “Australia in the Asian Century”. It outlined things Australia needs to do to increase its orientation towards the rising Asian countries, and things it needs to do domestically to improve its economic competitiveness in the face of ever more intense competition. […]
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