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It is hard to think of two countries that have more in common than Australia and Britain. We share a language and a rich history – and, in the main, a sense of humour. We are both maritime trading nations. Australia inherited many fine British institutions including parliamentary democracy and the common law. Yet, as a recent Lowy Institute poll demonstrates, too often the relationship is focused on the past rather than the future, on sentiment rather than shared interests. More than eight in 10 Australians see the Australia-Britain bilateral relationship as important. 

On June 26, 2014, Wilton Park published a report on their recent conference, Maximising Soft Power Assets: Towards Prosperity, which was held at the Hacienda Cantalagua, Mexico in May.

The report highlights the following key points of the conference:

China has evacuated more than 3,000 of its nationals from Vietnam, state media reported on Sunday, after a wave of anti-China unrest following Beijing's deployment of an oil rig in contested waters.But the anti-China protests planned for Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City, originally sanctioned by the Vietnamese government, were quickly stopped by scores of uniformed and secret police. The government has bee

Li Keqiang’s four nation visit to Africa in early May, the first since he became Premier last year, was kept off the front pages by the continuing unrest in Ukraine and theputsch by the Constitutional Court in Thailand. These issues are serious, but in many ways the story of China in Africa will almost certainly have a longer and deeper impact on the world, and deserves far more attention.

With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi now in Latin America for a nine-day visit to four countries, the White House has just recently announced that Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Brazil for the World Cup this summer.

The United States is in the early stages of a substantial national project: reorienting its foreign policy to commit greater attention and resources to the Asia-Pacific region. This reformulation of U.S. priorities has emerged during a period of much-needed strategic reassessment, after more than a decade of intense engagement with South Asia and the Middle East.

The recent tour of King Mohamed VI of Morocco of a number of African countries was packed with symbolism. It was a reflection of the kingdom's recent drive to expand its economic and political influence across sub-Saharan Africa, and it showed how Morocco makes use of both historic ties in the region and the kingdom's trump card - the spiritual authority of the Moroccan throne.

A relationship on the rocks is never a pretty sight. England’s 307-year union with Scotland is imperiled by a Scottish referendum set for September on seceding from the United Kingdom.

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