Officials in Qatar and Spain are reportedly mulling the creation of a $1 billion joint investment fund – and a meeting is being scheduled for next year to progress the plans. Spanish ambassador to Qatar, Ignacio Escobar, told Gulf Times in an interview that a bilateral visit by Spanish officials to the Gulf state is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2017, and that the visit could include the signing of an agreement to establish the fund.

Chile and South Korea have announced they are beginning negotiations to strengthen the bilateral Free Trade Agreement they signed 12 years ago, the first ever between a Latin American and an Asian country. Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, together with South Korea’s Trade, Industry and Power Minister Joo Hyung-hwan, signed a joint declaration in Lima on Friday to boost the existing agreement, which has been in force since 2004.

Highlights of their bilateral ties can be seen in politics, trade and education, she added, noting that joint education programmes have produced positive outcomes. The event is part of a series of cultural and academic exchanges between Vietnam and the Philippines in celebration of 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

On Monday, President Mukherjee would join Ghanaian President John Mahama for a one-on-one meeting. A number of agreements, including on setting up a Joint Commission between India and Ghana and on renewal of Cultural Exchange Programme, are likely to be inked during Mukherjee's visit.

With bilateral trade between India and China reaching around $70 billion in the last fiscal, interest in Hindi language has surged in the dragon land.

As part of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang’s official visit to Baku, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been interviewed by a correspondent of Vietnam News Agency in Europe.