I am very happy to have the chance to open this conference on the role of diplomats in the modern world. I'd like to thank Wilton Park for organising what promises to be an excellent programme, and assembling such an interesting group of speakers and delegates.

This conference is also very timely for us in the UK. Last autumn the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw launched a strategic review. Foreign Office Ministers and officials have been thinking systematically about the medium term priorities for British foreign policy. We are developing a strategy for the Foreign Office for the ten years ahead. We are looking at how we need to organise ourselves to operate in the modern world and to meet our priorities. We also need to be flexible enough to respond quickly and effectively to events we can't predict in advance.

I have been asked to talk today about how foreign policy will be conducted in the 21st century. This is a big subject, and an important one. But I hope you will forgive me for narrowing it down.

First of all, I shall be concentrating on the first decade of the 21st Century. Many of the trends we can see now are likely to continue beyond 2013. But I shall not be speculating about the role of diplomats 50 or 100 years from now.

I shall focus mainly on the role of foreign Ministers, Ministries, diplomatic posts and governments. Yoshiji Nogami will be talking later about non-governmental actors in the international arena.

And I shall take the British Foreign and Commonwealth office as my example. Much of what I have to say will apply to other Foreign Ministries also. Some points will be more specific to the UK. I hope we will be able to explore these similarities and differences in our discussion.

Some people are sceptical about even a ten-year strategy for the Foreign Office. Foreign Ministries and diplomats will always be affected by events we cannot predict or control. But in a fast moving world, we need more than ever to plan ahead. We often need to take decisions with long term consequences - not only on foreign policy, but when we invest in a new IT system, or when we recruit staff.

We launched our strategic review because we know that we can't just assume that we will go on working on much the same issues and in much the same way as in the past.

The 1990s were the years of the post Cold War settlement in Europe. For us in the UK, the focus was on establishing far-reaching processes of EU and NATO enlargement, and handling conflict in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere. In the next decade, post 11 September, the focus and the issues will be more global.

The ultimate goals of our policy will be the same: the security of the UK and its citizens, its territories; the prosperity of the UK; and a better world, politically as well as economically.

Looking ahead, we have identified a number of strategic priorities for the UK Foreign Office and its posts. These include:

minimising the risk of Weapons of Mass Destruction being used - whether against the UK, allies or others; minimising other significant threats to the UK, such as trans-national crime, drug and people trafficking, and the negative impacts of uncontrolled migration; maintaining a strong and stable international system based on the rule of law and multilateral co-operation; promoting UK economic interests in an open and expanding global economy, and making globalisation work for the greatest number; promoting democracy and progress towards global poverty-reduction and sustainable development; securing our energy supply; and ensuring that the EU is strong and dynamic, and that its neighbourhood is secure.

In addition to these policy issues, commercial, consular and entry clearance services will be high priorities. There will be a growing demand for these services, and pressure for better performance. Their delivery will help to underpin some of our other strategic priorities. These are the areas of Foreign Office activity with which UK citizens have the most direct contact.

Looking at these priorities, we can see three trends - towards ever-closer linkage between domestic and foreign policy; towards a growing focus on multilateral processes and global issues rather than bilateral relations; and away from a clear separation between governmental and non-governmental spheres of action.

Just a run through the international agenda of the last 18 months shows the same: September 11; Afghanistan; Doha; India/Pakistan; Bali; the EU and NATO enlargement decisions at Copenhagen and Prague. None of these is a purely foreign policy in the traditional sense. All of these affected and will affect British citizens at home and abroad. In all of these the UK worked with others, primarily through multilateral processes.

If the government's priorities are not pure foreign policy issues, what is the role of the Foreign Office in pursuing them?

Our strategic review is focusing on the areas where the Foreign Office has the most to contribute. We also commissioned a survey of stakeholders to consider how we could work better with them.

Since events abroad affect people's lives at home; and improving the lives of UK citizens depends more and more on international action, the Foreign Office should neither confine itself to pursuit of foreign policy, as narrowly defined, nor try to monopolise the UK's dealings abroad. It is not the role of the FCO to promote 'good relations' with other countries. What we're about is working with others at home and abroad to make a difference in the world.

This means Foreign Office officials are working ever more closely with others to develop foreign policy advice and contribute to the inter-Ministerial policy process in Whitehall.

It is the Foreign Office that makes a long-term investment on behalf of the UK in maintaining a network of posts, and now, increasingly, more mobile missions, so that we can identify and influence relevant decision-makers abroad. In our Embassies, staff from the FCO and from other government departments and staff engaged locally work together to achieve the international objectives of the government as a whole.

Posts are vital to our understanding of what is going on in a country, on an issue or in a negotiation. They help to identify the opportunities and risks for the UK. They advise on how to influence the outcome. They gather, assess, check and put into context the information that stakeholders need, rather than duplicating information to which they have access already. And they relay this information to the UK government, businesses and the public in a usable form.

A vital task of people in our Embassies is to persuade foreign governments and people that they share interests with the UK and to work with us and support us. Through posts we build relationships with foreign opinion formers and decision makers. Through them we provide advice and expertise to foreign countries to develop in ways important to them and to us. Posts organise meetings and host visits abroad. They negotiate on behalf of the UK in the EU, the UN, NATO and other international organisations. They deliver services abroad to UK citizens and others, on behalf of the government as a whole.

First, as the distinction between foreign and domestic policy is blurring, people from the Foreign Office need to work more and more in teams with other Ministries in Whitehall and with others. And diplomats need broad networks of contacts. Making policy towards a country means knowing what the UK is trying to achieve in and with that country. It means working with others to achieve it. Working effectively on an international issue means working in and with countries and through institutions.

And as the international impact of non-governmental actors is growing relative to states, our external stakeholders, too, must find the Foreign Office approachable and easy to navigate and to work with. Diplomats must be able to seize opportunities to work with others. We must base our decisions on a wide variety of information and expertise from external as well as internal sources.

For example the WSSD summit in Johannesburg was not only an example of strong and effective co-ordination between UK Ministries (Foreign Office, Cabinet Office, the Department for International Development, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) but also of consultation with private companies and NGOs to build up the UK position on the key questions of the summit.

Second, like other Foreign Ministries, the Foreign Office faces tight resource constraints. To have an impact, we must focus our efforts on our top priorities and where we add the most value. Co-ordination with others must not mean lowest common denominator outcomes. Our aim in working with others is to design effective, forward-looking policies to deliver results.

Diplomats must understand what delivering an objective means in terms of people working in different places and achieving outcomes. This means that we need to be clear about how we will achieve our objectives and who is responsible for meeting targets. We need to be more strategic, and we need effective management information systems.

Third, the Foreign Office needs to be ready to respond on a global basis to changing priorities and to crises. It will not be necessary to have a post in every country. We may be able to meet our objectives more efficiently by covering issues from a regional hub or from London. We need also to cut out overlap between London and posts, and between the Foreign Office and other government departments.

Building on the lessons of New York, Afghanistan, India/Pakistan and Bali, we are developing a new 24 hour capability to respond to crises, including mobile teams who can be sent quickly anywhere in the world in an emergency.

Responding need not always mean changing structures or moving people around the world. People can very quickly change the focus of their work, especially now that IT makes it possible to work on a new priority without moving physically.

Fourth, the Foreign Office must invest in its future by continuing to develop staff who can add value to the rest of government. Our staff need to become experts at working in a modern international context. They need to combine a knowledge of languages, foreign countries and international issues with an ability to engage effectively with external experts on a wide range of issues. They need to gain experience of providing a link between UK interests and foreign countries - which means accepting the constraints as well as the fascination of a mobile career.

Fifth, being responsive to customer needs and focusing on service delivery will be ever more essential to all the Foreign Office's work, whether working with stakeholders to produce policy advice, targeting political reporting and lobbying where it can be the most effective, and managing our own operation.

And of course in delivering services to business and the public. We are in touch with our stakeholders about the future services they want and need. We are planning ahead to make improvements. Under its new Chief Executive, Stephen Brown, British Trade International will be focusing on markets where they can make a difference; UK Visas will be using IT for a more cost effective, customer friendly service; forward planning should make our response to consular crises quicker and more effective.

Sixth, to engage effectively with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders at all levels, pursuing the interests of a more diverse Britain and responding creatively to change, the Foreign Office itself will need to become more diverse.

As the FCO we represent Britain abroad. UK society has changed, and our own staff are part of that changing society. They reflect the broader set of cultural norms and religious faiths found in the modern UK. Our staff want more flexible working practices and the opportunity to define their own work/life balance. They want choice over how to manage a mobile career. So we need to find new, cost effective ways to support flexible, mobile staff in the 21st century.

What I have said applies particularly to the first decade of the 21st Century. Many of these trends are likely to continue. What applies to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office will have some relevance for other Ministries of Foreign Affairs. I look forward to hearing Mr Nogami's perspective.

I also look forward to hearing the conference conclusions which will feed into our Foreign Office strategy. I hope the conference will be equally useful for other participants.

ENDS