THREAD Influencing the US is one of the most important diplomatic jobs. Normally the Irish, British, Israelis, Saudis vie for influence. But times are changing. This is an excellent report by
@b_judah on how
@FCDOGovUK can step up. Many great ideas 1/11:
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/a-washington-strategy-for-british-diplomacy/
.
@KarenPierceUK, our brilliant Ambassador in DC, will love the first recommendation: “Expand the Washington Embassy resources and staff numbers to enable more resources to engage Congress and State governments.” 2/11
But there are so many others.
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 1 1️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/31-20e3.png)
Create a British Heritage initiative in partnership with
@VisitBritain to help Americans of UK descent visit the country. Few will trace their ancestry to
@HighclereCastle but this is such a nice idea, which will boost post-pandemic tourism 3/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 2 2️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/32-20e3.png)
Establish a Friends of the UK engagement program at the British Embassy for leading US politicians and recruit a high profile Country Director of the
@BritishCouncil. Having an intellectual heavyweight in such a post would be smart -
@shashj or
@TFletcher you busy? 4/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 3 3️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/33-20e3.png)
Institute a new Britannia Fellows scheme for prominent British experts to deploy them to Washington and create independent Royal Endowment for International Affairs – a foundation to support independent research on UK-related strategic topics at US think tanks. 5/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 4 4️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/34-20e3.png)
Establish a Royal Indo-Pacific Trust of America (RIPT) and a Royal Technology Trust of America (RTT) modelled on the German Marshall Fund for the United States with offices in the UK and the US to deepen connections with American strategists and innovators 6/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 5 5️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/35-20e3.png)
Establish a Harold Macmillan Fellowship programme to allow mid-career US foreign policy professionals, when out of government, to be embedded in a relevant UK institutions 7/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 6 6️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/36-20e3.png)
Conversely, establish a new Winston Churchill Fellowship for young and mid- career UK talent with fresh expertise on US affairs to enter the British diplomatic service 8/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 7 7️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/37-20e3.png)
Create a new Royal International Research Fund (RIRF) to make the
@FCDOGovUK a major investor in UK-US related work undertaken in the UK together including independent research, exchanges and conferences in the UK. Money talks 9/11
![Tastenkappe Ziffer 8 8️⃣](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/38-20e3.png)
Create a new Office of British-American Coordination to give strategic form to the multiple but currently uncoordinated transatlantic projects and ties between cities, states, universities and other public bodies 10/11
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.