8th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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
7th March 2011
Ottawa, Canada
So we recently had a visitor in from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), a Mr. Robert Culshaw, the Deputy Director of BAS, to be precise. We (in collaboration with the British Council, WWF, the University of Ottawa, The Goethe Institute…) convinced Mr Culshaw to come to Ottawa to participate in a series of events that […]
Read more on The British Antarctic Survey, Robert Culshaw, and our second Science Salon! | Reply
4th March 2011
Islamabad, Pakistan
This was another sad week for Pakistan. On Wednesday morning, I was telling journalists about a doubling of the UK’s aid to Pakistan, when I was horrified to hear that Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti had been shot and killed in broad daylight in Islamabad. As I said that day, his death is a loss to […]
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16th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last night the Embassy was full of tour operators, agencies and attraction owners from Hungary and the UK, but also from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia. They had spent the day in a seminar and tailored meetings organised by Visit Britain – the organisation that markets Britain overseas and develops the […]
Read more on The Britain Brand | Reply
9th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Today the British Government launches its Trade and Investment White Paper. This is our statement to our trade and investment partners across the world, including Hungary, about how we plan to work together for mutual benefit. It’s about: Maximising the opportunities for businesses in the UK to trade and invest, and attracting investment to the […]
Read more on Delivering on Trade and Investment | Reply
9th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
At a recent press conference at the residence about the British Business Days in Ukraine a journalist asked me when the UK would actually start making investments in Ukraine in factories that produced things. I said there were a number of examples of such production, whether in manufacturing, agriculture or energy production; but that one […]
Read more on How to create wealth | Reply
7th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A guest blog from Margaret Jack, Director, British Council Ukraine Sixty Education Ministers developing policies for half a billion young people to help ensure that progress beyond the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals will improve the competitiveness of nations. This was the World Education Forum in London last month. Education Ministers on the steps of […]
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4th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
We welcomed to Mumbai in January the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable. He came with an extensive professional and personal knowledge of India, and indeed affection for the country. He was happily married for thirty five years, until her death, to a lady whose parents were from Goa, and […]
Read more on A cabinet minister for whom India is his second home | Reply
2nd February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
As governments around the world continue to look for the best way to stimulate sustainable economic recovery, we in the trade policy field offer a simple answer: trade is the biggest stimulus we can give right now. And thanks to the trade liberalisation we’ve witnessed since the last big, multilateral trade agreement was reached in […]
Read more on Getting a Doha agreement: no time to lose | Reply
2nd February 2011
Islamabad, Pakistan
Six months ago Pakistan was hit by devastating monsoon floods. This was – and remains – a disaster shocking in its scale and impact. The world risks forgetting that 20 million people were affected – more than the Boxing Day Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan and Haiti earthquakes combined. Almost two thousand people […]
Read more on Pakistan floods – six months on | Reply
