Stepping up its diplomatic footprints in energy-rich Central Asia, India is set to replicate the success of the Pan Africa e-network by creating a similar project of tele-education and tele-medicine that will span all the states of the strategically important region.

Last year Azeri representatives won the Eurovision song contest and according to the rules this year the Eurovision 2012 will be held in Baku. Despite tense relations the Armenian side made an official application in line with its policy of supporting people contacts and public diplomacy.

A cornerstone of China’s cultural diplomacy is Confucius Institutes at both Bishkek Humanities University and the Kyrgyz National University... the Beijing-funded institutes have infused their host universities with a Chinese flavor, paying for instructors and tailor-made course books that help some three thousand local students grapple with the tonal challenges of the Chinese language

Each country has a sizable diaspora from its neighbour – Tajikistan’s population is 15% Uzbek, while Uzbekistan’s is 5% Tajik – and shared cultural values. Those factors indicate that public diplomacy, an approach used frequently in Central Asia, could lead to significant progress in bilateral ties, observers say.

As a matter of fact, the region’s leaders have also expressed a common fear that China’s financial aid might be a poisonous gift, that with this soft power, Chinese investments might lead to economic dependency and political vassalage.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has in recent days sought to use soft power to focus the attention of South Asian countries on the importance of stabilizing he region. At the recent SAARC summit in the Maldives, for example, the need for the peaceful rise of participating members was outlined in detail, using multiple economic levers such as most favoured nation status.

According to the analysts and diplomats at the table, China's influence is based on cooperation, development and mutual interests. China's 'soft power' (a term that is not popular in Beijing) is its ability to let countries develop at their own rate.

Dubbed the world's first stealth concert, Sound Central is ready to rock the capital of Afghanistan. Founded by Australian Travis Beard, a photojournalist and guitarist in the Kabul-based rock band, White City, Sound Central is a rock music festival bringing artists from around Central Asia to Kabul for a groundbreaking modern music festival.