14th December 2015 Geneva, Switzerland
Occasionally you come across a fact that changes how you think. One such moment for me was when I discovered how the world had managed to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger between 1990 and 2015. It turns out that we met it five years early, meaning that nearly 1 […]
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17th November 2015 Montreal, Canada
Inspiring, fascinating, stunning, challenging, desolate – just some of the adjectives that my trip to the far North of Quebec conjured up. The visit was my first to the region and was organised for the diplomatic corps by Quebec’s Ministry for International Relations, hosted by the foreign minister Christine St. Pierre. The destination for our […]
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14th October 2015 Vancouver, Canada
“So what do you want to talk about?” My therapist looks at me over his half-moon glasses with a practiced benign smile, and strokes his greying beard.
Opposite him, on a couch large enough for my extended family, I tally the pros and cons of continuing. Why not? It’s my time after all. “LNG.”
14th August 2015 Islamabad, Pakistan
The first week back from a holiday brings a fresh perspective and a new impetus to your work. While of course the day-to-day business of diplomacy goes on – as witnessed by the successful visit to Pakistan by the Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon – it is a chance to step back and […]
9th March 2015
Over the next two days, the GREAT Mega Mission – a trade delegation of around 50 British businesses – will pitch camp in Bucharest for an intensive round of seminars, meetings and networking opportunities, before moving on to Bulgaria for the second and final leg. The Mission is a milestone event: the largest UK commercial […]
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23rd February 2015
20 February 2015 marks the 135th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Romania. There have been numerous friendships forged during this period. Britons closely involved in the politics of the emerging independent state of Romania in the nineteenth century included the remarkable Maria Rosetti, born Marie Grant, the wife […]
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20th February 2015
Next week promises to be a big week for UK-Turkish trade and investment. Lord Livingston, the British Minister of State for Trade and Investment, will visit Turkey from 22-25 February. The Minister will open a GREAT Technology event; hold formal high-level talks with Trade Minister Zeybekci; meet British investors in Turkey, and Turkish investors in […]
18th February 2015
British people are often accused of using too many sporting metaphors. Expression such as “a good innings” (doing well but nearly finished) or “a sticky wicket” (a hard-to-defend situation) come from cricket. Others, eg “game, set and match” (the contest has ended) or “ the ball’s in your court” (it’s up to you to make […]
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4th February 2015
I work for UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). UKTI is the part of the British Government which helps British companies to trade internationally, and which helps overseas companies to set up shop and invest in the UK. International trade is one of the best ways to help countries become more stable and prosperous. Check out […]
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31st January 2015
Let’s imagine a Turkey almost 10 years from now, in 2023. The years since 2015 have been tough for the Turkish economy, as for all countries. But the people of Turkey have risen magnificently to the challenge. By 2023, buoyed by high rates of economic growth for each of the last eight years, nominal GDP has more […]
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