London: An Indian-origin MBA student at the University of Cambridge has won accolades from British Foreign Secretary William Hague after winning a Twitter competition which asked a question regarding UK’s foreign policy. Hague had asked his followers on Twitter to tweet the answer to a question: “What do you think is the biggest contribution UK foreign policy can make to the world?” The winning entry was from Gopal Rao, who answered: “UK foreign policy should focus on emancipation of #girlsandwomen through enterprise, supported by vibrant #socent culture within UK. #meetFS.”

The prize was to meet the Foreign Secretary and live tweet an event, according to a statement by The Foreign and

Commonwealth Office (FCO). Rao met Hague yesterday in the Foreign Office here and discussed the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI). PSVI was launched on May 29, 2012 by Hague. It aims to strengthen and support international efforts to respond to sexual violence in conflict – including by enhancing the capacity of countries, institutions, and communities to support survivors and end impunity for perpetrators.

“Thank you to Gopal for coming in to the Foreign Office today, and for the good discussion we had about preventing sexual violence in conflict,” Hague said after the meeting. “Through social media politicians have opportunities to engage a wider group of people than ever before, and this was a perfect example of the value of this,” he said. After the meeting, Rao sat in on a part of the preventing sexual violence in conflict board meeting. “Seeing the passion and dedication both of the Foreign Secretary and his team was incredible. The building is imposing but the people I met in the FCO are friendly and welcoming. I hope digital diplomacy reaps rewards,” Rao said.