The sad fact is that, for all our perceived virtues — or maybe because of them — Canadians are viewed by many outsiders as tamer Australians, more spaced-out Belgians, or decaffeinated Americans. The lack of understanding — i.e. interest — on the part of our friends and neighbours, not to mention our handful of enemies, is a problem.

The Maritime Security Partnership aims to deliver capacity building assistance in Jamaica, to enable the country to maintain compliance with international maritime security standards, and establish a Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Maritime Security in Jamaica.

Everyone is an architecture critic. Why not? So many of the national pavilions at the Shanghai Expo are peacocks waiting to be admired — or not — and it would probably drive their creators nuts if everyone didn't have an opinion.

The Canada-U.S. Institute, the first of its kind in Canada, is expected to become a focal point for exploring shared and conflicting values on issues such as health care, border security, domestic and foreign policy, and how they affect the two countries.

But two international conferences on nuclear security present Ottawa and Washington with a golden opportunity to bridge the bilateral chasm by working together to bolster waning international support for the most important arms control treaty in history.

In a world where public diplomacy is critical, Canada needs to brand itself in order to stand out... Over the last three decades, the globalization and the communications revolutions have created the most striking transformation of society since the Industrial Revolution.

THE Smurfs, the Little Mermaid, Bollywood stars, tenor Andrea Bocelli and the acrobats of Cirque du Soleil are part of a colourful diplomatic offensive to win Chinese hearts at this year's World Expo.