MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY - Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan

MONDAY 16 JANUARY - High Commissioner for Sri Lanka

2011

MONDAY 5 DECEMBER - Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr Susie Burbridge

The Lord Mayor of Westminster – Councillor Susie Burbridge was elected to Westminster City Council in May 1998 and represents the Lancaster Gate Ward.

Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Susie studied and worked in the travel industry. She moved to London in 1970 leaving behind four sisters and two brothers. Married and divorced with two grown-up children – James and Charlotte, whom she has chosen as her joint Consorts for the year – she took an interest in her husband’s retail business and restaurant as well as spending a period teaching children tennis. She worked in Parliament for many years and during this period started a cross party initiative getting more women into Politics. She organised the first plaque dedicated to a woman in the House of Commons, to Marjorie Hume, a suffragette in the long battle to get women the vote.
Councillor Burbridge has served on a diverse number of Committees, Boards and Panels, as Chairman of Leisure and Community Services and in several Deputy Cabinet Member positions and as a school governor. Her recent roles have included Deputy Cabinet Member for Housing, Member of the Board of CityWest Homes, Member of the Adoption Panel, Member of the Built Environment, and the City Management Committees and a member of a planning committee. She was also as a Member of Pan London Health for Trauma and Stroke and of the Patient and Public Involvement Forum for St Mary’s Hospital. Her political role and community work takes up most of her time.

Text of speech to the Council

Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council, House of Commons , 14 November 2011

Foreign relations and recent history of the Republic of Macedonia

Sir Ronald Halstead
Dear members of Conservative foreign and commonwealth council Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me begin by thanking our host and the organizers for inviting me to give a talk this evening. It is a wonderful experience to join you at this beautiful venue at House of Commons. I am especially pleased to have been invited by Hon Secretary, Mrs. Melissa Crawshay-Williams to give a short speech about the foreign relation and recent history of my country. I consider this interest in my country as an honor to all the people of the Republic of Macedonia and therefore, I am greatly privileged by the opportunity to deliver this speech today.
……………………………..

In the last 17 years NATO and EU integration have been a major goal for the Republic of Macedonia. Euro-Atlantic integration has become our top foreign policy priority. The Republic of Macedonia applied for membership in the European Union in 2004 and obtained candidate status in December 2005, during the British presidency with the European Union. Since then the country has attained significant results in the implementation of the European reform agenda and is awaiting the initiation of the negotiations with the European Union.

Since 2009 European Commission has been recommending to the Council of the European Union that negotiations should be opened.

In 2009 and 2010 the decision making process in the Council was postponed from one Presidency to the next due to a consideration that a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute with Greece is imminent.

We are expecting decision of European Council in December 2011 to open accession negotiations. The Council decision to open accession talks could set screening exercise as an indicative timeframe for reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue with Greece.

RT HON LORD HURD OF WESTWELL CH CBE
delivered a speech on the theme “BRITAIN’S PLACE IN THE WORLD”
at a Dinner and Book Signing evening in London SW3.

Lord Hurd, age 81 retired as Foreign Secretary in July 1995, after a distinguished career in Government spanning sixteen years. After positions as Minister of State in the Foreign Office and the Home Office, he served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1984-85, Home Secretary from 1985-89 and Foreign Secretary 1989–1995 in the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

First of all, allow me to thank you for the kind invitation to
come today and give you a short presentation about the
Republic of Honduras.

As you are all aware there exist very strong commercial,
political and historical relationships between the United
Kingdom and Honduras. Please allow me to briefly give you
some general information on my country.

Honduras has everything it takes to drive and sustain a
strong tourism industry, and while some enterprising
investors are identifying these opportunities, the demand
will increase sharply very soon.

The Honduran government demonstrated its strong support
for the industry by enacting a tourism incentives law
eliminating income taxes and tariffs on new tourism
projects. Miles of virginal white-sand beaches, breath-taking
reef diving and snorkeling, renowned Mayan archaeology,
historic colonial cities, thriving indigenous cultures, and
tropical rain forests appeal to visitors looking for an unusual
experience in a virtually unexplored land. Investors looking
for tourism development opportunities in Central America’s
fastest growing tourist destination won’t have to look far.

Visitors interested in world-class diving and pristine
beaches can find it all only two hours away on Honduras’
Bay Islands. Each of the three islands, Roatan, Guanaja, and
Utila, has its own distinct character and appeal for tourism
hospitality development. The islands are one of the premier
diving and snorkeling locations on the globe, with easy
access to the mesoamerican reef, the second largest coral
reef in the world, and its amazingly diverse marine life.
Cultural explorers seeking a glimpse of the ancient world
will find a treasure trove in the ruins of Copan, located in far
western Honduras. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Copan is
one of the great Mayan city-states and is often referred to as
the Paris of the Mayan world.

Dennis – great friend, supporter, close to the heartbeat of the Conservative Party – has died of a heart attack.

Please send any CFCC correspondence to: CFCC Secretary, 3 Lodge Road, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1JA.

We have a lot to celebrate remembering the life and contribution of Dennis in his rich and varied life and a great deal to be grateful for in remembering him in our prayers.

Funeral details: Requiem Mass to take place at St Mary's Church, Cadogan Street SW3 2QR, Chelsea on Friday 9th September at 2pm. Followed by private cremation at Mortlake Crematorium, Richmond. All enquiries c/o Chelsea Funeral Directors, 260B Fulham Road, SW10 9EL. Tel: 020 7352 0008.

Paraguay is a landlocked country bordering with Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. It is politically divided into 17 Departments and the capital is Asuncion with a population of 600,000. The Tropic of Capricorn passes through the city of Belen dividing the country into a tropical area to the North and a temperate one to the South.

The country has a surface area of 407 square km. The two main rivers crossing the country are the Paraguay and the Parana. The Guarani Aquifer, considered one of the biggest fresh water reserves on the planet, flows underground.

Paraguay was the centre for Spanish conquerors wishing to explore other destinations around the continent. The Franciscans arrived in Paraguay in 1550s and founded several communities throughout the country, encouraging the local Guarani language and Spanish. Their cultural influence was enormous and there are works of art and churches still in evidence in a number of towns.

A substantial chapter in the history of the country was the presence of the Jesuit missionaries from 1609 - 1768 and their influence over the Reduction of Guarani tribes.

Paraguay became independent of Spain in 1811.

Chairman: Sir Ronald Halstead CBE
Deputy Chairman: Jo Johnson MP
Vice Chairmen: Peter Friedmann, Ian Raitt, Dr Charles Goodson-Wickes DL
Hon Secretary: Melissa Crawshay-Williams
Hon Treasurer: tbc

Patrons: The Rt Hon William Hague MP : The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG, CH : The Rt Hon The Lord Howe of Aberavon QC : The Rt Hon The Baroness Chalker of Wallasey : The Hon The Lord Hurd of Westwell CH, CBE
President : The Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG QC MP
Vice President : Sir Colin Turner CBE DFC: Mrs Beryl Pendley

Sir Ronald Halstead CBE, Chairman CFCC & Melissa Crawshay-Williams, Secretary CFCC

Webmaster:

melissacw AT hotmail DOT co DOT uk
tel: 0791 787 4770
[above written to stop spambot use - replace AT with @ and DOT with .]

Vice Chairmen: Peter Friedmann 07930 668 535
Ian Raitt 01273 842 030
Dr Charles Goodson-Wickes DL 020 7629 0981

Hon Secretary: Mrs Melissa Crawshay-Williams

Hon Treasurer: tbc

HE Nicola Clase - Swedish Ambassador
(Photo: Swedish Embassy)

Text of Speech:

Mr Chairman,
Thank you for inviting me to speak about Swedish Foreign Policy at your Council.

Europe’s voice is needed in the world. And Sweden’s voice is needed in Europe.

And Sweden --- in the context of European cooperation --- has a responsibility to contribute to freedom, peace, security and development in our immediate vicinity and globally.

To live up to these expectations we need strong and committed
Member States in the European Union.

HE Lyubomir Kyuchukov
Ambassador of Bulgaria

Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council

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.

The public debate about the Foreign Policy before its accession to the EU was focused on two issues: a) could a newly acceded country adequately represent and stand up for its foreign policy priorities and interests within EU, and b) what contribution Bulgaria could make to the common foreign and security policy of the union. A national political consensus was reached that well argumented foreign policy priorities within the EU in spheres of higher national expertise could gain the support of the EU and bring added value to the Union’s policy. Additional expertise and experience in specific foreign policy areas or regions, as well as good bilateral relations with certain countries, could also be beneficial to the EU, offering new channels of communication.

President: The Rt. Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG QC MP

Vice President: Sir Colin Turner CBE DFC
Mrs Beryl Pendley

CFCC AGM: Dennis Waters, Secretary - Sir Ronald Halstead CBE, Chairman - Melissa Crawshay-Williams, Secretary