He used the opportunity to call for dialogue, exchanges and collaboration between the Caribbean and Africa and to factor the role of culture in social and economic development. This forms part of both countries overarching objectives on development, poverty reduction and our gradual integration into the global economy.

I have also come to observe Egyptian public diplomacy efforts in South Sudan - and they are quite feeble. An Egyptian clinic, staffed by Egyptian doctors recognized for their skills, is essentially it. While a good step, it is insufficient to win the hearts and minds of our new upstream neighbors, who often view Egypt through the prism of its close relationship to Khartoum.

There’s growing awareness in government about Canadians abroad. Foreign Affairs and International Trade has been looking at global Canadians as part of public diplomacy and international business development; other federal departments also share an interest.

Ottawa should appoint a parliamentary secretary to oversee an office dedicated to engaging with these Canadian citizens, who live [abroad].Through outreach and public diplomacy, this office could foster greater business, educational and cultural ties with Canadians who live abroad.

Named after the country's national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the center aims to promote the Philippine heritage across the world in the same way the France, Spain and Germany did with Alliance Francaise, Spain with Instituto Cervantes and Goethe-Institut respectively.

Thus, if Bangladesh wishes to use soft power in international politics it has to display its dominant values... If a country's culture and ideology are attractive, other nations are more willing to follow. Precepts and teachings found in the literature of Tagore, Nazrul and Jashimuddin could be significant sources of our soft power.

There has been some criticism of Obama being long on rhetoric and short on specifics, but that is what public speeches are all about. They are supposed to appeal to our hearts, not our heads....This is the very essence of "soft power".

So this Global Diaspora Forum will institutionalize our strategy in three ways. As a convener, we will bring people together to look for ways to cooperate, pursue common interests. As a catalyst, we hope the forum will help launch new projects and provide training and technical assistance to people who are in need of it...