The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development said the UAE has provided Dh173 billion in foreign aid to 178 countries and geographical areas between 1971 and 2014. The report noted that the UAE ranked as the world's most generous donor in 2013 and 2014 and became an international role model of relief and assistance of millions of people affected by natural and man-made disasters and crises.

The fact that India and China are willing to have cooperative exchanges as part of soft or cultural diplomacy may seem accommodative and a positive effort to bridge differences. Between the lines, however, the Government’s efforts to push Buddhism by tracing commonality of roots indicate a subtle and smart move to steal a march over China, which is increasingly positing itself as the sole disseminator of Buddhist faith in the far-east and southeast Asia.

South Asian countries have been pushed many times by external powers to set aside their political grudges and strive for peace and prosperity in the region. [...] But rarely have external powers been motivated to try initiating people-to-people contact as an alternative path to regional unity and connectivity. People-to-people contact or “public diplomacy” remains the unfulfilled agenda of SAARC.

Music in Common is the driving organization behind this weekend's FODfest, aka Friends of Danny Festival, created by Todd Mack and local musicians to honor his friend, the late journalist and musician, Daniel Pearl. [...] "Since 2009, it has produced more than a half-dozen international tours in the Middle Eastern and western Asia regions for both youths and adults, which, according to the organization's website, promote "peer-to-peer diplomacy and cross-cultural ambassadorship."

On Wednesday tiny FC Astana welcomes the world for the first ever Champions League match in Kazakhstan […] FC Astana is part of the state-owned Astana Presidential Sports club, created at the behest of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.