DIPLO Blog

The hometown of Kocho Racin, a place of poetry, culture, history and tradition – my first visit to Veles Last week, I travelled only a short distance from Skopje to visit Veles. It was a packed day as there was a lot to discuss and a lot of people to see and meet. Although Veles has a rich cultural history, our conversations were focussed on its future. Mayor Ace Kocevski talked about his plans for the development of the city and increased investment and the necessity of public administration reforms and decentralisation to allow the municipalities to deliver for their citizens. The UK is working with the Ministry for Information Society and Administration in support of the reform of the public administration. But delivering this across the country will be a challenging task and needs the engagement of the municipalities. I d..

Skip to content Leigh Turner Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna Part of UK in Austria 3rd October 2019 Vienna, Austria Brexit outreach events in Austria You may have seen on social media in recent weeks that the embassy is organising another round of Brexit events around Austria. Previous events (we have done 17 so far) have been an important opportunity for us to share information with British nationals in Austria and to hear about your experiences. This next round of events will start on Friday 18th October in Innsbruck. We plan later events in Salzburg, Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt and Linz. To make sure places are available for people who are able to attend, registration will open at midday, a fortnight before each event. We are using different registration software this time – Eventbrite – based on your feedback from the last round of events. You can register your interest in the events now, and ..

Skip to content Leigh Turner Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna Part of UK in Austria 24th September 2019 Vienna, Austria A Tam O’Shanter in ViennaThe headgear is a subtle grey with a bright blue bobble. It sits aslant the head, keeping you warm and dry. I was delighted recently to attend the HQ of the London Scottish Regiment in Westminster to be awarded with a “Hodden Grey Tam O’Shanter”. How did this happen? The story begins with my decision in January 2018 to wear my kilt to Austrian President Van der Bellen’s annual diplomatic reception for ambassadors. This was the second time I had attended the reception. Both times, inspired by my Danish colleague in Vienna, I had cycled to the event rather than taking an official car. The second time, I had cycled in my kilt. The combination appealed to people, including President Van der Bellen himself (who is a keen environmentalist). In January 2019, ..

Skip to content Paul Brummell Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department, Communication Directorate 23rd September 2019 London,UK PLEASED AS PUNCH We missed Special Guest Star Bobby Davro, who had opened the Hotham Park Country Fair in Bognor Regis, but watching the Punch and Judy show at the fair felt like a rite of passage for our five-year old son, George, in the company of his parents and great aunt and uncle. The show was put together by Professor Hazee, aka children’s entertainer Crazee Hazee, and in the time-honoured fashion featured a series of sketches involving squeaky-voiced Punch and another character: Judy, the baby, the crocodile, the policeman… As George quickly learnt the correct response of “oh, no, it isn’t!” to Punch’s “oh, yes, it is!”, it felt as though he was being inducted in Englishness. Punch and Judy indeed appeared in the list of the first twelve icons of England selected as part of the ICONS project in 2006, commissioned by the Department of Culture..

Skip to content Bob Last Deputy Head, UK Mission Political Team 23rd September 2019 Geneva, Switzerland Badly Opened Boxes There are different ways to open boxes of breakfast cereal. When my wife does it, the box looks like it’s been magically opened by a graceful spell – the packaging remains in pristine condition and the re-sealable cardboard tag slides effortlessly into its allotted place. Whenever I do it, it looks like a pack of ravenous velociraptors have erupted into our kitchen in desperate need of coco pops. This session of the Council feels like one that I was tasked with opening the box for. Whoever I’ve spoken to over the last couple of weeks about how things are going has given me a weary sigh and summed it up with the same word – messy. Preparation is so often the key to success, but the short gap since the previous session in July has left many here struggling to manage a surprisingly large number of tricky resolutions. Many of these are on situations which are hugely s..

Skip to content Chris Rampling MBE British Ambassador to Lebanon Part of Digital Diplomacy FCO Travel Partners in Prosperity Shoulder to Shoulder UK in Lebanon 20th September 2019 Beirut, Lebanon 12 months in Lebanon: ‘It can sometimes be hard to stay optimistic … but here’s why I do’ This time last year was one of the highlights of my career – presenting Queen Elizabeth’s letter to President Aoun that nominated me as Ambassador. The anniversary has allowed reflection on the year: for Lebanon, and for the UK. My first 12 months in Lebanon has been remarkable. Rolls Royce and MEA signed our largest ever bilateral trade deal. I met the 10,000th Lebanese soldier trained by the UK, and one of the UK’s most modern naval frigates came to Beirut. We hosted the first official visit by a British Royal, and partnered with the National Library for a stunning celebration of the UK in Lebanon. I have seen the results of our sustained work with women in Parliament, on community policing in Beirut, ..

Skip to content Leigh Turner Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna Part of UK in Austria 17th September 2019 Vienna, Austria Outstanding British food and drink in Vienna ‘You should try this English sparkling wine.’ ‘Really? Is it any good?’ ‘Try some. Make your own mind up.’ ‘OK.’ (Long pause.) ‘Wow. Can I have a couple more glasses?’ Our annual Queen’s Birthday Party at the residence in Vienna is not only one of the city’s hottest tickets (apologies, again, to all those we are not able to invite) but also a great opportunity to showcase some of the best food and drink on the planet. British food and drink exports are booming. In the first quarter of 2019 they were up 10.7% to £5.8 billion (EU: 9.9%, non-EU: 12.2%). Top products included whisky (up 19.2% by value); salmon (40.5%); chocolate (5.9%); cheese (15%); wine (19.7%) and gin (29.6%). Total food and drink exports in 2018 were £22.5 billion. ..

Skip to content Aidan Liddle UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament Part of Conference on Disarmament 16th September 2019 Geneva, Switzerland Disarmament blog: the Conference on Disarmament in 2019 The Conference on Disarmament (CD) adopted its Annual Report to the UN General Assembly last week. Thanks to the skilful work of the sixth and final President for the year, Zimbabwean Ambassador Taonga Mushayavanhu, this was a quicker and much less fractious process than many of us were expecting. With that, a week ahead of schedule, the 2019 session of the CD came to a close. It’s difficult to feel anything other than disappointed with the CD’s work this year. As I wrote on this blog in March, the CD’s failure under our own Presidency to adopt a decision establishing Subsidiary Bodies and Special Coordinators meant that the momentum from the 2018 session was lost. And although the row over the legitimacy of the Venezuelan Presidency wasn’t as disruptive..

Skip to content Irfan Siddiq British Ambassador to Sudan 4th September 2019 Khartoum, Sudan Sudan: A New Dawn Protestors took to the streets of Sudan in December 2018 calling passionately for change. Their persistence led in April 2019 to the removal of former President Bashir. But what followed was not civilian rule but a tense period of political negotiations and sometimes confrontation with the Transitional Military Council that assumed power. This period saw many ups and downs, with the massacre of so many innocent protestors on 3 June the worst point. But the vision and commitment of the Sudanese to building a new Sudan, civilian-led and based on the revolutionary slogan of “freedom, peace and justice” never wavered. Last month we eventually saw the conclusion of the transitional political agreement, the formation of a civilian majority Sovereign Council and the appointment of a civilian Prime Minister. These are momentous achievements. They will define the coming period in Sudan..

Skip to content Robin Barnett Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin Part of #BeyondPlastic 3rd September 2019 Dublin, Ireland Celebrating Sustainably at the British Ambassador’s Summer Party 2019 I am now back from my summer break. After three weeks in Poland and Austria, I took off from Vienna in 34 degree heat and landed back in Dublin, where the temperature was 15C. I knew I was home. But I was also aware that our summers are getting warmer and generally drier. While that is quite appealing at the seaside, it brings problems with it too. On Wednesday, I will be hosting my summer party. I hope everyone has fun. But our theme this year really matters too. It is ‘Celebrating Sustainably’. While Brexit is often the focus of the headline-writers, there is no question that climate change is THE biggest challenge facing the planet. It’s hard not to be daunted by the sheer scale of the threat to humanity. But seeing 16 year old Greta Thunberg arrive by boat in New York this week reminds me just ho..