Indonesia and New Zealand agreed on Wednesday to improve coordination in combating terrorism through information exchange and preventive measures. [...] BNPT chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius and New Zealand's assistant commissioner for international and national security, Michael Pannet, also discussed deradicalization programs, with both countries agreeing to exercise a soft-power approach as a means of prevention, particularly toward families and communities with a history of radicalism to alter their orientation and offer counternarratives.

President Trump set off a firestorm Tuesday when he conducted diplomacy-by-tweet. The President took credit for the decision by Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries to cut off ties with Qatar, an ally that is home to a large base with as many as 10,000 U.S. military personnel. The tweets were a huge surprise given that a day earlier, top U.S. officials had sought to downplay the dispute. “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!” Trump tweeted Tuesday.

After claiming victory in the historic referendum, President Erdoğan visits India to further develop political relations and increase cooperation in trade ties and the fight against terror. During the visit, the issue of FETÖ will also be discussed, as Turkey will ask India to take steps against the terror group [...] During the bilateral meetings, the agenda is expected to focus on anti-terror efforts, political relations, bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Overseas, the State Department is working with other countries and organizations to share experiences, ideas, and practices that can assist partner nations to better protect public places.  Under the auspices of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), the United States and Turkey are co-leading the “Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative,” which aims to raise awareness, identify needs, and leverage expertise and experiences to better protect potential soft targets. 

There's a new way of doing diplomacy in Ethiopia's capital, one that forsakes speeches in favour of music, sweat and bare feet. A troupe of New York-based dancers arrived in the capital Addis Ababa earlier this month to boogie their way to closer ties between the United States and Ethiopia, a major East African economy and counterterrorism partner for Washington.

The fourth round of UN-led Syria talks, dubbed Geneva 4, wrapped up last week with a tentative agreement between warring sides on an agenda for future negotiations [...] For nine days, United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura met separately with delegations from the Syrian government and three different opposition groups in an effort to end six years of bloody war.

From the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the emergence of ISIL, to the importance of diplomacy and global development, President Obama outlined actions he took as Commander-in-Chief and the lessons that can be drawn from this approach.