12th March 2012
Washington DC, USA
Today’s fast moving, ever-changing digital landscape has altered many things about how we work, live and do business. But some constants remain – entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity are still king. This year’s South By Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) festival exemplified just that – and showed that Britain is certainly towards the front of the pack! From […]
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6th March 2012
Washington DC, USA
I’d like to draw your attention to the latest blog by our Head of Mission in Helmand, Michael O’Neill. The post covers his recent trip to Sangin, and highlights the impressive progress that has been made there over the last year and a half. As Michael notes, when he first visited Sangin in late 2010, […]
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1st March 2012
Washington DC, USA
Last week I took a very belated Christmas holiday to Puerto Rico. It was very lovely…even if it has meant that one particular friend and colleague has sung West Side Story’s “America” (which compares the perceived pros and cons of living in NYC to San Juan) every time we’ve bumped into each other since my return. But […]
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19th January 2012
USA
Last week at the National Building Museum, I had the pleasure of listening to Jim Eyre, one of the founders of the London-based Wilkinson Eyre Architects. Over the years, Wilkinson Eyre has unveiled futuristic designs for gardens in Singapore; skyscrapers in Guangzhou, China; and a number of innovative UK projects. One of the firm’s projects […]
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5th January 2012
Washington DC, USA
When I was offered the dream job of Counsellor for Global Issues at the British Embassy in Washington DC, clearly I couldn’t refuse. It’s a dream job because of the range of issues my portfolio covers—diplomacy on trade, energy, the environment, transport, science and innovation—and because of the country and context, since the US is […]
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15th December 2011
USA
For those of us actively working toward successful international negotiations on climate change, the most recent meeting in Durban, South Africa seems like cause for optimism this holiday season. The UN climate talks wrapped up last weekend with over 120 countries (including major economies such as the United States) forming a coalition behind the EU’s […]
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21st September 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“To be honest, the first things that come to mind when I think of Massachusetts are Sam Adams ale, the Kennedys, the Red Sox, the original Tea Party….and the Bee Gees (“feel I’m going back to Massachusetts”, sung at notes too painful for me to reach). But having spent two days this week in Boston, […]
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18th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Investment stock can be a more accurate and less volatile indicator of inward investment than flow, but the UK’s Office of National Statistics reported last month that the UK attracted £32bn in the inward investment in the first quarter of 2011 – it’s strongest quarter for over 3 years, and a huge leap from the […]
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5th November 2010
New York, USA
Guest blog: Susan Haird, Deputy Chief Executive, UK Trade & Investment I am delighted to be writing from New York, where at this time of year the city’s cultural and commercial calendars are humming. It is the latter that brings me here on this particular visit. The US is by far the largest investor in […]
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22nd September 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Whisky is the UK’s top agriculture export – £3.2bn-worth of whisky flowed out of the UK in 2008, accounting for just under a quarter of the UK’s agriculture exports (see Agriculture in the UK 2009). And the US was the top export market, sipping £421m worth of the stuff in 2009, a whopping 13% increase […]
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