he Embassy of Vietnam in Indonesia introduced the country’s signature Nem (spring roll) at the ASEAN cuisine festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 5. [...] The ASEAN nations have rich culture and cuisine, he said, adding that promotion of food identity of each nation is a diplomatic channel.

George Balanchine’s Jewels has its 50th anniversary this year, an event that was commemorated at New York City’s Lincoln Center last month with performances by dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet. The performances were notable not just for the coming together of three of the world’s great dance companies, but because their international representation mirrored the work itself.

The cultural ties and bilateral trade growth between Canada and India is growing stronger by the day and it is important to realize the role art and culture plays in expanding the socio-economic balance of a country. [...] An international project celebrating 150 years of Canada and 70 years of India’s Independence marked on August 15th, 2017 is being planned by way of a unique exhibit which will travel to India and back home to Canada – collecting culture stories through the creative process and travels.

The Hafez Association in the Armenian capital of Yerevan organized a meeting of its learners of the Persian language on Tuesday. [...] “One of Iran’s main concern is to stimulate the development of the Persian language in Armenia,” Iranian Ambassador Seyyed Kazem Sajjadi said at the meeting.

More than five centuries after King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled Spain’s Jewish population, the still-spoken language of the exiles is to be formally honored by the country’s leading linguistic authority. The Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) has announced plans to create a Judeo-Spanish branch in Israel that will sit alongside the 23 existing academies dedicated to the Spanish languages across Latin America and in countries such as Equatorial Guinea and the Philippines.

Turkey uses Hagia Sophia as a tool of cultural diplomacy to exert both soft and hard power. The monument is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been a museum since 1935. [...] At this stage, the Turkish government is expected to use Hagia Sophia as a negotiating tool in its diplomatic struggle over Kurdistan and other geopolitical issues.

A 32-member cultural troupe led by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) Director General Jamal Shah returned from a tour of China on Monday. The troupe comprised folk singers, dancers and musicians specializing in traditional music and instrumentalists from all parts of the country. The troupe performed at four different places in the Xinjiang region of China.

Hundreds of the youth come enthusiastically to the newly opened martial art center to see and learn the Shaolin after they have heard about from their friends or relatives. The branch of the Chinese Kung Fu was brought and introducing to Afghans by Hussain Sadiqi, an Afghan-Australian martial artist, who has defied the unsafe situation in his homeland to serve his people by teaching them the art.