This week at the Foreign Office
A look at the work of the Foreign Office and its embassies and high commissions overseas over the past week.
British Ambassador to Chile Jon Benjamin spoke to Sky News about the rescue of the 33 miners trapped underground in Chile.
Foreign Secretary William Hague issued a statement on the kidnapping of British aid worker Linda Norgrove in the House of Commons on Monday.
Mid-week he visited Moscow for discussions on the importance of the UK’s relationship with Russia. Later in the week he went to Brussels for the NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers’ meeting.
Following the World Day and European Day Against the Death Penalty Jeremy Browne launched the UK Government’s strategy for Global Abolition of the Death Penalty. He answered questions on the death penalty posted to him on Facebook.
Minister for Europe David Lidington welcomed the peaceful conduct of the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan on 10 October.
He published a Written Ministerial Statement to the House of Commons confirming that the EU Bill is to include a clause affirming that ultimate authority remains with Parliament. Later in the week he visited the Ukraine and Poland.
On Tuesday, Alistair Burt, Minister for the Middle East, spoke at the Annual General Meeting of the Libyan British Business Council.
Buckingham Palace announced that The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh’s State Visit to the United Arab Emirates and Oman will take place between 24 and 28 November.
In travel news this week we published advice for Britons travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. We helped Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham football fans prepare for their team’s overseas fixtures. We provided information on travel disruptions in France and Greece and communicated the storm warnings in Mexico.
Two new videos were published in the ‘See Britain through my eyes’ series from sustainable architect Lucelia Taranto Rodrigues and David Sabel of the National Theatre.
On Friday FCO bloggers supported Blog Action Day, an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in writing about an important issue that affects the world. This year’s topic is water.