George Edgar

Read biography

5th April 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Arms Trade Treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday

I was very pleased to see that the Arms Trade Treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. This is the culmination of getting on for ten years of work by nations committed to better control of the international arms trade, and by NGOs and religious groups who have campaigned relentlessly to push […]

Read more on Arms Trade Treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday | Reply

28th March 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Two Museums in Karakalpakstan

Last week was mid-term break at my daughter’s school, so I took some time off to go with my family to Khiva and Nukus. The big attraction in Nukus was the museum containing works from the collection of Igor Savitsky. It’s no longer unknown, since the 2010 film “Desert of Forbidden Art”. Apparently large numbers […]

Read more on Two Museums in Karakalpakstan | Reply (4)

7th March 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

International Women’s Day

This Friday, 8 March, is International Women’s Day. The Embassy will be closed for the holiday, so we are celebrating today, on Thursday 7 March. The men in the Embassy are bringing flowers and cake for the women. I’ve been out negotiating the purchase of eighteen bouquets (as with St Valentine’s Day, it seems the […]

Read more on International Women’s Day | Reply

25th February 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Bread

One of the things all foreigners in Uzbekistan learn about is the local bread – non, or lipyoshka in Russian. There are regional variations, but all on the same theme of a circle of bread with a crisp, flattened centre and a thick rim. Bread, we are told, is an inescapable part of every meal: […]

Read more on Bread | Reply (5)

11th February 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Parliament

On Friday I met two officials of Uzbekistan’s parliament who were about to set off to London to spend a week there learning about Britain’s parliament and how it is run. They will meet the clerks who keep the work of Parliament running smoothly and support the work of its committees as they examine legislation […]

Read more on Parliament | Reply

16th January 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Samarkand

I spent last Thursday and Friday as a tourist in Samarkand with my daughter, who has been staying with us for the holidays. This is my second visit since arriving as Ambassador in Tashkent. The first was short and official, taking in British businesses and the city Hokimiat and Chamber of Commerce: useful and important, […]

Read more on Samarkand | Reply (4)

31st December 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Amid the Winter’s Snow

On the day of the first heavy snow in Tashkent, I went out to the former Abdul Kassim Medressah, which now houses artisans’ workshops and shops selling craft work from around Uzbekistan. The city looks very different under a fresh coating of snow. The Medressah is an attractively simple building from the early nineteenth century. […]

Read more on Amid the Winter’s Snow | Reply (2)

13th December 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

A European concert

On Monday evening I attended a concert at the Tashkent Conservatoire by the Conservatoire Students’ Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. It was an excellent concert, with a series of show-pieces to show off the students’ skills. I always enjoy hearing young orchestras and choirs performing at this sort of level. They tend to have a special […]

Read more on A European concert | Reply

3rd December 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Through the Language Glass

This week is English Week in Tashkent, with a series of events organised by the British Council with the Ministries of Public and Higher Education and other partners. I attended the opening of an annual conference organised by the Uzbek Teachers of English Association (UzTEA) that brought together English teachers from across Uzbekistan. They were […]

Read more on Through the Language Glass | Reply

15th November 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Climate

Last week I went to see the people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are preparing for a high-level climate change meeting in Doha (in Qatar) at the end of this month – the 18th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. I went to explain the UK’s approach to […]

Read more on Climate | Reply

About George Edgar

George Edgar is Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan. He took up his position in September 2012. Ambassador Edgar has previously been Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Cambodia and Macedonia; Consul General…

George Edgar is Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan. He took
up his position in September 2012. Ambassador Edgar has previously been Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Cambodia and Macedonia; Consul General in St Petersburg; and interim Ambassador to the Holy See. Most recently, he played a key role in Protocol Directorate in the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office in London in relation to arrangements for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Ambassador Edgar is married and has two daughters.

Follow George