12th October 2015 London, England
The Digital Transformation Unit regularly gets asked about training and best practice on digital diplomacy and digital transformation by other foreign ministries, in the UK and overseas. These opportunities allow us to exchange ideas and innovations, share lessons learnt and reflect on the impact and effectiveness of our work to date. Our most recent training […]
17th September 2015 Hanoi, Vietnam
Tuesday was International Day of Democracy, and the global theme chosen by the UN was “Making Space for Civil Society”. We took this literally, and made some space at my house in Hanoi for civil society representatives and activists to come and talk about the changing landscape for civil society in Vietnam, the opportunities and […]
12th August 2015 New Delhi, India
Investment, infrastructure, smart cities, bonds and financial services were the top agendas for Cabinet Minister and Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Letwin’s three day visit to India from 27-29th July. Mr. Letwin’s visit was the first visit by a British minister to India after the polls in the UK in May. Mr. Letwin carried the message […]
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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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2nd December 2014
I wrote a blog last year called “Why Turkey can be confident”. The point of that blog was to say that, given that Turkey was a large country with a trillion-dollar economy playing an influential role in world affairs, I couldn’t understand why some people argued that events inside Turkey were determined to a large […]
17th February 2014 Islamabad, Pakistan
Let me start by saying that I am honoured and proud to have been appointed as the British High Commissioner to Pakistan. I believe I have got one of the best jobs in the British Diplomatic Service. The country is also close to my heart. I have some very old connections with Pakistan. My grandfather […]
18th September 2013
Is anything as quintessentially British as a “cup of tea”? I’m delighted that our GREAT Campaign has proudly partnered with British producer Tregothnan Tea, whose excellent website includes the fine slogan: “Tea is liquid wisdom”. British tea is justifiably famous. Apparently people in the UK consume 165 million cups a day. But Tregothnan tea is more British than most. This is […]
19th October 2012
Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, is not noted for its mild climate. In fact it is amongst the world’s coldest capitals, with temperatures regularly below minus 30 in the winter. But at the centre of the city a huge atrium houses dozens of palm trees, surrounded by students and professors going about their business. […]
16th October 2012
It’s after midnight on a Friday and I’m waiting at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport to meet FCO Europe Minister David Lidington off a late flight from London. The airport is packed with people as passengers pour into a city which for over 2,000 years has been a crossroads between Europe and Asia. One of the first […]
27th September 2012
One after another, top British companies take the podium in a room full of Turkish construction companies. Each sets out world-class expertise in everything from design, construction and communications to steel, advanced engineering, security, training and sports services. Other speakers include the British Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Keith Allan; Sefa Gomdeniz, Chair of the Turkey-Turkmenistan Business Council; […]
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