The financial world treats Argentina as an emerging market — risky, nascent, unsophisticated — and so does the art world: it has few prominent artists, curators or institutions. But just as the country seduced global investors with a smash-hit bond sale earlier this year, so one Argentine collector is hoping to draw international attention to Buenos Aires with his new foundation.

In the context of this fraught historical moment, Tehran’s new exhibition is being promoted as a bracing act of cultural diplomacy. The exhibition is a collaboration between the government-owned TMoCA, the commercial Mohsen Gallery, and the Emirati Barjeel Art Foundation. It encompasses work from a variety of Arab countries 

With China not budging from its position on India's NSG bid, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has called for a "sensible and pragmatic" conversation between the two sides on how "not accommodating" each others aspiration was detrimental to the overall relationship. The Foreign Secretary also observed India should use its soft power and do more in improving its image in China as people there do not have a very fair idea about the country.

Good food is the way to winning people’s heart. And Italians are masters at winning hearts with their globally popular cuisine so much so that the authorities in Italy believe food can also be a powerful tool for diplomacy. Organising an Italian Cuisine Week in around 120 countries including Doha simultaneously, the Italian authorities aim to lighten up people’s mood with good food.

Tang said mariachi music transcends borders and cultures because of the universal feelings of love and loss that this music reflects. She’s planning a trip to China as part of a cultural exchange program and hopes her love of this musical form will entertain Chinese audiences.

Yet the presence of costumed adults lining up for London’s own Comic-Con, a Swarovski-encrusted Hello Kittyworth thousands of pounds, and the profiling of Lolita fashion in magazine articles and V&A exhibits, show that cute culture is not just spreading beyond Asia, but it’s here to stay. And it means business. So, what is kawaii and why here and why now? 

More and more, a country’s diplomacy focus has shifted to promoting its cultural aspects — food, fashion, songs and dances — abroad. These are offered as an important part of its cultural diplomacy, which is not only internally generated, but is more impactful.

The Chinese leader hailed the progress in bilateral cultural exchange that he said shortens the distance between the peoples who share similar experiences of suffering foreign aggression and social turmoil. The president said he believed the progressive cultural exchange between China and Latin America will also play a role in the development of the world civilization.