The new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership is part of Clinton’s “smart power” philosophy of using “every diplomatic tool at our disposal,” said U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Penavic Marshall, in a written response to questions from The Associated Press.

Lagos State Government will introduce Mandarin, or Chinese language, in public schools’ curriculum as from next session, Olayinka Oladunjoye, Lagos State Commissioner for Education, said in a statement on Monday.The commissioner made the disclosure after a meeting with the delegation from the Chinese Confucius Institute, University of Lagos.

The county has just embarked on a bold plan to have all its children fully bilingual — in English and Mandarin — by the time they graduate from high school. In recent weeks, children from pre-kindergarten through third grade began mandatory Mandarin classes, part of a curriculum that in three years will include middle school and high school students.

Under the partnership, the Confucius Institute will train the six district teachers in Chinese language and culture and provide three instructors from China to assist those teachers in their own language training and in their first year teaching Chinese to students in Columbia Public Schools. Later, more teachers will be trained.

I have always been intrigued by the desire of countries to convey their cultural, political or social values as part of their public diplomacy mission. On the surface, it is appealing. However, in practice, it is fraught with challenges and is something of a paradox.

Move over, all you Hillary Clinton and Henry Kissinger wanna-bes. Here come Chicago’s Rick Bayless, Tony Mantuano and Art Smith, along with 87 other renowned chefs, willing to perform a little kitchen diplomacy on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. They are members of the American Chef Corps, part of a new program known as the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership.

...in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State, flanked by grinning men - and two women - in navy blue chef coats emblazoned with American flags and the department's official seal. Now Chief of Protocol of the United States, she unveiled the department's new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, which will "elevate the role of culinary engagement in America’s formal and public diplomacy efforts."