10th March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Today we celebrate being a part of one of the world’s largest group of countries as we mark Commonwealth Day with a public holiday. From Canada to the Cook Islands, and from St Kitt’s to the world’s largest democracy, India, the Commonwealth embraces an extraordinary range of countries, including the Turks and Caicos, covering a third of the world’s […]
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6th March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
by guest blogger Baroness Verma This blogpost follows Baroness Verma’s official visit to Bulgaria, 3-5 March. It was also published in Standart newspaper. I am delighted that I had the chance to visit Bulgaria this week. As European partners, Bulgaria and the UK need to share ideas on the big challenges of our generation: ensuring energy security, tackling […]
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4th March 2014
Bucharest, Romania
We have invited our colleague in the Political Section Cora Motoc to tell us more about the educational programmes that the OvidiuRo NGO runs in Cluj and about the embassy’s involvement in their projects. Romania has 4.89 million school-age people (3-23 years old), out of which only 3.73 million are actually enrolled. This means that […]
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25th February 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The usual approach of a blogger or commentator to a historical event is to look for modern-day comparisons; to use the event to support a link to a trend of interest or concern. But this approach cannot be adopted on the Holocaust. Because of its horrors, because of its sheer scale, there can be no […]
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18th February 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Yesterday, I took part with the President in the official launch of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Scheme in Bulgaria. This was not just an offical duty, but a personal pleasure too, because from the age of 14- 18, at school, I participated in the Scheme. The lessons I learned then stay with me now. As […]
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13th February 2014
Bucharest, Romania
Today’s guest blogger is one of our former embassy colleagues and a dear friend, Cosmina Grigore, who now volunteers for Little People Romania. This year, the embassy decided to support their campaign to mark the International Day Against Cancer (4 Feb) and the International Childhood Cancer Day (15 Feb). Read Cosmina’s story: I’ve always wanted […]
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29th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Although for me the biggest story of 2013 was the way civil society found its voice, the biggest story UK-Bulgaria story was the vexed issue of migration. We should differentiate between actions and words. The British government’s actions have been clear. We have honoured our legal commitment to lift labour restrictions on Bulgarian workers. In […]
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15th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Prime Minister’s visit to India in February set a number of firsts: the first by a British PM to Mumbai for 20 years, the first by a PM to Amritsar, and the first to India (or anywhere) to be joined by over 120 businesspeople. The size of the business group set us in Mumbai […]
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21st February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visits by the Prime Minister don’t come round too often to most FCO Posts, unless you happen to be in Brussels or Washington. Although I have met some “ex-PMs” in recent postings in Manila and Sydney, it’s more years than I care to remember when I was last involved in a visit by a current […]
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23rd January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The State of Gujarat, an hour’s flight north of Mumbai, can claim many important contributions to India. It was the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, another key leader of the independence movement and India’s first Home Minister, and Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the massive eponymous conglomerate, hails from Navsari in Gujarat. Gujarat […]
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