A collection of valuable books was donated to the Qatar National Library’s Heritage Collection Building, by Carmen De La Peٌa, Spain’s Ambassador, recently. It was presented in collaboration with the Islamic Library of the Spanish Agency for Cooperation and Development (AECID) and Casa Arabe, a Spanish public diplomacy institution focused on relations with the Arab world.

Talking to a Chinese taxi driver is always interesting as they know what is rotten in the Middle Kingdom and speak up candidly. Sometimes these conversations are also interesting for students of public diplomacy, especially when concerned with the image and impression of a country.

Talking to a Chinese taxi driver is always interesting as they know what is rotten in the Middle Kingdom and speak up candidly. Sometimes these conversations are also interesting for students of public diplomacy, especially when concerned with the image and impression of a country.

China has been trying to integrate with the world through a modest and self-disciplining approach rather than be disregardful and aggressive. Concepts such as equal communication and putting aside minor differences so as to seek common ground, which are lacking in US soft power theories, are exactly the allure of China's soft power.

For many Russians, the notion of soft power was once something of an oxymoron, like icy fire. Yet, watching the success of the US and the EU in getting others to want what the Americans and Europeans have to offer, they changed their minds and even sought to imitate their competitors' performance. Now, enhancing Russia's soft power is one of the tasks the Kremlin has given to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, a special agency for international cooperation has been created with the specific mission of reaching that goal.

One unheralded Indian success has been last year's establishment of a unified mechanism giving coherence, direction and efficacy to India's foreign aid; that may now amount to well over 0.2 per cent of GDP, if we aggregate all the foreign aid offered through the ministry of external affairs (MEA), and the different agencies that run technical assistance programmes for fellow developing countries. This is a guesstimate, since no one has totalled the real figure.

The revival of Cambodia’s rich and unique cultural heritage has fueled the country’s impressive recovery from the Khmer Rouge’s genocide of 1975-79. This message rang unmistakably true as the Season of Cambodia (SOC) has dazzled New York audiences in museums, universities, galleries, and performing arts centers over the past month.

The revival of Cambodia’s rich and unique cultural heritage has fueled the country’s impressive recovery from the Khmer Rouge’s genocide of 1975-79. This message rang unmistakably true as the Season of Cambodia (SOC) has dazzled New York audiences in museums, universities, galleries, and performing arts centers over the past month.