It's becoming an area of spirited debate in government and financial circles - what is and isn't a BRIC country and how should they be classified? As the emerging world forges ahead and western economies hesitatingly recover from the financial crisis the call for inclusion in the BRIC block becomes louder.

It's hard to argue that the rise of China, taken on the whole, is anything but good for the global economy. Yet few people see China that way. Instead, they focus on the competition China has created, or the jobs many believe China has “stolen.” However, even those who realize, or even directly benefit from, China's advance still can't but feel uneasy about that advance.

U.S. companies' game of catch-up shows the perils of waking up late to the next big frontier market, Africa. The continent's economy is forecast to grow to $2.6 trillion in 2020. While most U.S. companies focused on Asia and Latin America, China was leapfrogging America in Africa.

TİKA is widely considered a key public diplomacy instrument for Turkey, with the agency website defining development assistance as “a significant instrument that allows new avenues for classical diplomacy in economic, social, cultural and humanitarian fields.”

Brazil has become both strong confident enough to play an active role on the world stage. In an increasingly multipolar world, Brazil is emerging as a powerful voice representing the Global South in multilateral forums like the G-20, the World Trade Organization and discussions over greenhouse gas emissions.

British development money will be invested directly in private companies in poor countries to stimulate their economies and wean them off traditional aid. The UK will push governments in poor countries to cut red tape on businesses and lower tariffs and taxes, as well as “engaging with firms directly" to help them make more money and employ more people.

Africa's attractiveness as a place to invest is growing, according to a survey about business across the continent. But it's not all good news for African business. The survey shows that Africa is seen as an attractive investment primarily by Africans and then by emerging markets -- but less so by developed countries.

Across Africa, India is reaching out with a generous mix of aid, education and technology transfers it hopes will pay rich dividends in the global scramble for natural resources.