19th May 2011
”Well, he would [say that] wouldn’t he?” Last week I took part in the 10th Hungarian Business Leaders Forum Financial Summit and found myself on a panel of Ambassadors arguing about the transformational power of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The UK is one of the biggest foreign investors in Hungary, so I might be expected […]
1st May 2011
Passers-by were rather surprised today to find a traditional British street party happening outside the British Embassy in Budapest – complete with bunting, balloons (red, white and blue, naturally) and British, Indian and other foods. It’s not something you often see in Hungary…. And it was of course to mark the marriage of Their Royal […]
30th March 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Our New Science & Innovation Intern in Toronto, Dr. John Preece, discusses his experience at the Africa Rising: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Frontiers conference. John will also be running the Science & Innovation Canada Blog for the next couple of weeks, while I’m away. I look forward to seeing what the next couple of weeks will […]
Read more on Putting a Little "Innovation" in our Discussions – John Preece on Africa Rising: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Frontiers | Reply (1)
29th March 2011
On Tuesday 15 March, Professor Dan Hamilton of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations in DC hosted a panel discussion to launch "Europe 2020 – Competitive or Complacent". Professor Hamilton warned that 2020 was the closing window for Europe within which it needed to position itself into a competitive place in an increasingly inter-connected […]
29th March 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
The UK is a long standing partner and ally of Pakistan and both our nations have a lot to gain from improving trade between our two countries. In this video blog, Adam Thomson talks about attending the “Doing Business with Pakistan” conference in London in February 2011, and the benefits of strengthening UK-Pakistan trade and […]
23rd March 2011
On 3 March a new Alliance for Future Generations came together in the UK. The trigger for its formation was an inspirational visit by Hungary’s Ombudsman for Future Generations – a frequent partner of ours on environmental issues – to the UK in February 2010. A presentation he made at the British Ministry of Justice […]
14th March 2011
I hold many events at the residence to promote educational providers or organisations, such as the Business Link Education Agency, which help to match up education providers in the UK with customers in Ukraine. We have also been able to host some valuable charity events. But it’s unusual to have an event which combines the […]
Read more on How education can drive charity – and vice-versa | Reply
14th March 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
Today is Commonwealth Day and it’s about women. The Commonwealth is an increasingly important family of nations who share a common history and have shared interests looking to the future. Last week, it was the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. So this year Commonwealth Day is rightly celebrating the role of women as agents […]
13th March 2011
Clearly energy will be a prominent feature of our work in connection with Hungary’s EU Presidency throughout the spring. The Commission published its Low Carbon Roadmap on 8 March and UK diplomatic efforts are now focussed on raising Europe’s ambitions to build a low carbon economy. This effort is especially relevant in Central and Eastern […]
Read more on Mapping the Road to a Low Carbon Future | Reply
8th March 2011
In February I took part in five workshops, from Edinburgh to Newmarket, and Leeds to London. These workshops were arranged and supported variously by UKTI, the Asia Task Force, RBS and The Economist Intelligence Unit about India. From the number of businesspeople who attended at each venue, probably over 500 in all, I was left […]
Read more on Largest ever overseas investment in India – by a British company | Reply