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Hugo Swire

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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FCDO Outreach

24th March 2016 London, UK

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by Hugo Swire

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Supporting the Colombian Peace Process

Since official talks began between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) three years ago, the UK has been committed to supporting the Peace Process in any way we can.  Commitment to achieving a lasting peace has resulted in tough negotiations for both sides. I encourage all parties to maintain efforts […]

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1st March 2016 London, UK

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by Hugo Swire

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Commonwealth is no relic of the past

Sometimes the Commonwealth is seen as a relic of the past. I argue passionately that it is nothing of the sort. The test is always the same – would we invent the Commonwealth today? The answer is that we would. It is an important organisation for the present and the future. My visit last week […]

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10th December 2015 London, UK

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by Hugo Swire

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

8 November Elections a Landmark Achievement – But Now the Hard Work Starts

On Sunday 8 November the people of Burma went to the polls. Millions of Burmese men and women turned out to queue, patiently, for hours to cast their vote. Make no mistake – these are historic elections. For the first time in over 50 years, the people of Burma were able to freely choose their […]

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7th October 2015 London, UK

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by Hugo Swire

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sri Lanka: talking about a resolution

For those of you who don’t know Sri Lanka, it’s a beautiful country – with world-class national parks, world heritage sites and pristine tropical beaches. But it is also haunted by a traumatic past, a devastating twenty-six year civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the government that ended in 2009. Some of the stories […]

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14th August 2015 London, UK

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by Hugo Swire

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Freedom of speech is a right to be defended

One week ago today, a blogger called Niloy Neel was hacked to death in Bangladesh. He was the fourth blogger to be murdered there this year. I’ve been meaning to start my own blog for some time: last week’s events made me determined that I shouldn’t put it off any longer. Freedom of speech is […]

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