Bulgaria is a middle-sized European country with a population of 7.5 million. It is one of the oldest states in Europe, dating as far back as the 7th century, and one of the most recent members of NATO and the EU. It is proud to be the motherland of the ancient singer Orpheus, the inventor of the modern computer John Atanasov and last, but not least, the Premier League top scorer Dimitar Berbatov. Bulgaria is an attractive destination for tourism, both summer and winter, as well as for direct foreign investments, boasting the lowest tax rates in the EU.
Firstly I would like to thank the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council for giving me the opportunity to be here this evening, to speak about a subject all of you know is very dear to my heart; and that is the historic relations between the State of Kuwait and the United and Kingdom
Sir Ronald Halstead, CBE, chairman of the CFCC, hosted the annual diplomatic dinner at the Cadogan Hall, Chelsea in association with the Conservative Political Forum of Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives chairman, Dennis Waters. The Rt. Hon. The Lord Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, was Guest of Honour and spoke on "The World Ahead - and Why".
Rehman Chishti MP (former adviser to Ms Bhutto) was delighted to host this annual lecture in parliament, which had key note speeches from: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Rt Hon Dominic Grieve MP (Attorney General) Gerald Howarth (Defence Minister), Sir Peter Tapsell (Father of the House) and High Commissioner of Pakistan Wajid Hasan. In attendance was Ms Bakhtwar Bhutto Zardari, The Ambassadors of Turkey and Tunisia to the United Kingdom, as well as many British parliamentarians.
I would like to thank you for inviting me here tonight and for you being here. It is a great honour for me to speak to such a distinguished audience about the main directions of the foreign policy in Libya.
Thank you, Sir Ronald for giving me this opportunity to speak to the Conservative members of Parliament as a major coalition partner in the Government. Congratulations on the well-deserved electoral victory.
The Ambassador of Finland, HE Mr Pekka Huhtaniemi, spoke on 'Features of Finland's foreign policy' at the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council, in central London today.
Rarely has any sporting event got under way under the shadow of such relentlessly negative coverage as today’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. It’s almost as if a deliberate attempt were being made to jeopardise the competition. These systematic attacks are part of a pattern. For the last 13 years there has been a tendency to view the Commonwealth as little better than a historical artefact – useless, corrupt and worthy only of contempt.
