In a landmark agreement,­ seventy years after the end of the Second World War, Japan and the Republic of Korea  appear to have finally resolved the longstanding issue of the “comfort women” that has hitherto plagued relations between the two nations. 

Japan and South Korea have very close alliances with the United States. They also have had diplomatic relations with each other for 50 years, not to mention considerable trade back and forth during that time. At a popular level, many Japanese are wild about Korean bulgogi and soap operas while many Koreans love Japanese sushi and anime. That doesn’t mean, however, that the two countries are particularly close. 

The link between the business of diplomacy and the diplomacy of business is as old as the link between trade and flag. More recent diplomatic history is replete with examples of businessmen building bridges between leaders of adversarial nations.[...] business has helped oil the wheels of diplomacy, just as diplomacy seeks to oil those of commerce.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed at the Russian Exhibition Centre ahead of his address at the Friends of India conclave with Sanskrit shlokas by a local singer on Thursday, it signalled that the two sides were keen to push soft diplomacy. 

In the past year, China and Latin America have given strategic priority to bilateral cooperation through establishing a comprehensive cooperation mechanism, upgrading production capacity cooperation, furthering cooperation in trade, investment and finance as well as increasing cultural exchanges.

Speaking at a conference chaired by Senator Sherry Rehman titled ‘The Road to 2016: Negotiating Deadlock and Diplomacy with India and Afghanistan’, participants discussed Jinnah Institute’s Track II diplomacy efforts for building sustained channels of bilateral and multilateral engagements and for offering alternative recommendations on regional policy issues.

Last 30th of September, the French and Dutch ministers of Culture announced publicly the join purchase by the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum of a pair of portraits by Rembrandt. A premiere in the history of museology, and a new step in European non-governmental relations.

Three main strands run through the narrative: learning Japanese, creating camaraderie with Keio University students, and acquiring extropy. That ambassadors come and go is a truism. Yet, precious few make a permanent mark on the country and people where they are accredited. Aftab Seth is one such scholar-diplomat.