A collaboration between the British Council, the UK government and local strategic partners such as Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA), the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA) and the UAE’s Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, the UK/UAE 2017 Year of Creative Collaboration is a series of events that range from the recent performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End record-breaking musical Cats at Dubai Opera, to scientific conferences on the UAE’s future ­urban development.

Officials from the Turkish and Israeli foreign ministries met for the first time in more than six years to discuss cooperation in areas such as energy, trade and tourism. As Turkey and Israel ease into a new era in their relationship, collaboration on more sensitive issues has been slower to emerge. [...] The two sides also agreed to future exchange visits by government ministers as well as business, academic and cultural delegations.

Germany is one of the top ten investors in India and we want to continue this strong bond with India, said Andrea Christ, Deputy Counsel General, German Consulate, who was in the city to launch Dr. Wiesner’s product,[...] Stating that the Indo-German relations have strengthened since the Make in India initiative with cultural exchange programmes and industrial opportunities.

Taking advantage of the literature festival last weekend, a poet from Maldives made his way to Karachi with only one mission: share his country’s stories. Ibrahim Waheed Ogaru is a writer, a poet and a television show host who arrived in Karachi last week to attend the eighth Karachi Literature Festival on the invitation of Pakistan’s ambassador to Maldives, Syed Khawar Ali Shah.

The Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran, Mehdi Honardoost hosted a reception at a local hotel in Islamabad to mark the 38th anniversary of the victory of Islamic Revolution and the national day of Iran. Federal Minister of Commerce, Khuramm Dastgir Khan was the chief guest while Raja Ashfaq Sarwar Provincial Minister of Punjab for Labour & Human Resource was also a special guest as he was representing Mian Shahbaz sharif, the Chief Minister Punjab. During the ceremony national anthems of Pakistan and Iran were sung by the students of local school.

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hit the links on Saturday, as the two leaders looked to forge a bond over a round of golf diplomacy. [...] After four hours at the club, Trump tweeted a picture of himself and the prime minister on the golf course. "Having a great time hosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the United States," Trump said in the tweet. Shortly after, Trump and Abe left the club to head to a private lunch.

British producers association Pact UK will host its first UK-China cultural exchange. The Feb. 13 meeting will see 21 senior programming executives from major Chinese broadcasters in London meeting with over 70 production companies and broadcasters. Following the launch day, Chinese executives will spend the rest of their week in placements with 23 indies selected to take part in the exchange.