On October 21, Vietnam and the Philippines convened the eighth meeting of their bilateral cooperation committee. The deliberations focused on specific measures for advancing collaboration as the two ASEAN states are expected to lift ties to a strategic partnership next month.

The closure of the American Center in Moscow is just the latest step taken by the Kremlin to crack down on U.S. public diplomacy initiatives within Russia and ratchet up anti-Western sentiment.[...] As Ambassador Tefft suggests, the move marks the culmination of a decades-long process of undermining U.S. cultural influence in Russia that emerged in the wake of the post-perestroika euphoria and belief in the rosy future of Russian-U.S. relations.

India remains an integral part of Afghanistan’s steady progress in institutionalizing peace, pluralism, and prosperity. Ties between Afghanistan and India go beyond the traditionally strong relations at the government level. [...] Moreover, in an effort to further solidify ties between Afghans and Indians, the Afghan Embassy in Delhi has initiated the creation of sister-city relations between major Indian cities and states and their Afghan counterparts. 

The idea was emphasized during the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Forum "Sharing the Future," held for the first time in Shanghai, east of the country, and in the presence of about 300 businessmen and tourist agencies of the city, the most populated one of this nation.

Viet Nam and Cambodia, at a high-ranking meeting in Phnom Penh yesterday, agreed to co-operate further to implement the co-operation agreements they signed in the field of religion and belief. Co-operation in the field of religion would help facilitate belief and religious activities undertaken by people in the two countries, thus, contributing to strengthen the traditional relationship on the principle of respecting sovereignty and laws of each country....

Neamin Ashenafi of The Reporter sat down with the ambassador [Mohammed Idris] at the Egyptian Embassy to discuss a range of issues including the Nile, his work here in Addis Ababa, the expansion of the New Suez Canal and other pertinent issues. 

Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said Friday that he intends to reopen political dialogue with Russia, amid growing estrangement between Moscow and the E.U. Jensen said that despite rising tensions, dealing with Russia was a diplomatic necessity. “Even though Russia is a major threat, we can’t find a crane large enough to move it. Russia is situated geographically where it is and that means that we need to deal with it,” he said.

Rwanda and Ethiopia have suggested new development models they believe can help Africa break away from the prescribed Western models. The discussion, under the theme “The African Democratic Developmental State”, was inspired by ideals from the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, who believed that Africans needed to shape their own destiny by “doing things their own way.”