25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
23rd April 2024
Good English – A Key to Panama’s Future Success
21st March 2024
Forests in focus on International Day of Forests
4th April 2012 Ottawa, Canada
A great pre-Olympic experience
I had a great pre-Olympic experience last weekend. I was invited by Pierre La Fontaine to witness the Olympic and Paralympic swimming trials. Pierre is CEO of Swimming Canada, and National Coach to boot. It was fun going into the Stade Olympique in Montreal, meeting officials and swimmers, and offering them a public welcome to […]
4th April 2012 Ottawa, Canada
From beer and bread to cancer research: using brewers yeast to unlock the secrets of cancer genetics
Alexandra Weirich, our SIN Intern, guest blogs about a recent UK researcher’s visit to the University of Ottawa: Dr. John Diffley from the UK’s London Research Institute, travelled to Montreal and Ottawa last week to meet with scientists at the University of Ottawa and McGill and discuss their research findings. Dr. Diffley shared what he […]
Read more on From beer and bread to cancer research: using brewers yeast to unlock the secrets of cancer genetics | Reply (1)
4th April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Business and Government: We need to talk
Mihai Razvan Ungureanu’s new Business Advisory Council looks very similar to the Business Advisory Group that meets every quarter with David Cameron in Downing Street – a small group of the country’s leading business men and women advising the Prime Minister on the big issues facing the country today. It’s the right format, because the […]
Read more on Business and Government: We need to talk | Reply (1)
4th April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Prime Minister’s Easter message
On 3 April, I attended the Prime Minister’s reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate Easter, something that David Cameron introduced last year. British Christian representatives were there from many denominations – including Anglican, Catholic, Coptic, Orthodox, Salvation Army, Methodist – as well as participants of other faiths. And Number 10 echoed to the sound […]
4th April 2012 Dublin, Ireland
Happy Easter: Time for a short break!
It has been a busy few weeks. A few highlights. Working with some great British companies particularly during the visit of Susan Haird (Deputy CEO of UKTI). There are some big opportunities, not least in the energy field where there is great interest in exploiting the shale gas and civil nuclear opportunities and in infrastructure, […]
4th April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK-Ukraine leadership training in Crimea
Guest blog by Major Kirsty Baxter, Assistant Military Attaché Kyiv There is an explosion; then we hear the screams for help. Quickly we turn and jog back down the path. Our group of military attachés and Ukrainian officers find a badly injured sergeant, his foot blown off by a mine booby-trap. As he begs for […]
Read more on UK-Ukraine leadership training in Crimea | Reply (1)
4th April 2012 Bucharest, Romania
Make sure that crime does not pay: UK and Romania’s developing partnership on asset recovery
I’m continuing my section of guest bloggers with Felicia Alexandru, our Senior Political Officer. I invited Felicia to talk about a recent project she worked on, organising a seminar on asset recovery, set up in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Justice and also the National Anticorruption Directorate. Let’s find out more! Romania and the […]
Read more on Make sure that crime does not pay: UK and Romania’s developing partnership on asset recovery | Reply (1)
3rd April 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
Namibia prepares for London 2012
Guest blog by visiting Olympic Attache for Sub Saharan Africa Sarah Heal. Having never been to Namibia and knowing what a small population this vast county has (2.2m), I was interested to see how prepared Namibia is for this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. I did not have to get very far into […]
3rd April 2012 Washington DC, USA
The best laid plans of mice and runners
When I saw my diary for last Wednesday, I realised that a snapshot of my activities that day would be the perfect way to answer that ubiquitous question posed by friends, family, old colleagues, and assorted others: “what do you actually do?” Business Minister Mark Prisk was visiting Washington and our plans for his visit […]
Read more on The best laid plans of mice and runners | Reply
3rd April 2012 Budapest, Hungary
This is GREAT Britain
The UK has a strong image around the world and, as I’ve discovered, here in Hungary. We’re respected for our traditions, our reliability and the quality of what we produce. It’s a great advantage for us – whether we’re working in Embassies overseas or trying to do business there. But the British brand needs a […]