Branding is all about perception and Nigeria’s is not where it should be by a long stretch. We can no longer afford to leave Nigeria’s branding in the hands of anybody with an opinion on the country. Is it that the government does not know we should brand the country? Do we not know that it has been proven that having a strong country brand, will enhance our respect in the political arena.

Today the European Commission is announcing a further increase of the share of its humanitarian aid budget to lead the way in supporting education projects in emergency situations around the world. The increase from 4% in 2016 to 6% in 2017 of the humanitarian aid budget, puts the Commission well ahead of the global average. 

The freshly appointed honorary consul of Bangladesh to Luxembourg recently completed her first working visit to the Grand Duchy and came away with a view of the country that could help the nation-branding cause. [...] Digital Bangladesh and the blue economy are top priorities for our present prime minister

A fifth of Moroccan youth are unemployed, and the way out may include a combination of new businesses and traditional careers. That’s the idea behind one of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s largest projects, the Career Center program, which establishes and supports replicable Moroccan university career centers to equip youth with soft skills and link them with private sector internships.

This visit had a clear purpose of accelerating economic collaboration between Indonesia and Singapore. Not only was this investment trend taken up a notch during Lee’s trip, including the establishment of an Indonesia-Singapore business council to boost cooperation, but greater emphasis was also placed on diversifying Singapore’s traditional investment destinations of Jakarta and Batam. 

One network for Chinese associations all over the world, from as far as Brazil and the United States to Russia, is taking shape. The Singapore Hua Yuan Association has managed to draw organisations from about 80 countries or regions, including cities in China, to be part of this collaborative platform. Most of them were in Singapore yesterday to sign the agreement for the Global Hua Yuan Collaborative Network.

Little more than a week after Donald Trump’s victory, Xi Jinping, president of the world’s second-largest economy, set off for Latin America clutching a sheaf of trade deals [...] But at a time when the image of the big, bad yanqui seems to be making a comeback, Mr Xi may find himself with an opportunity to boost Chinese influence in the American backyard.

During his Peruvian trip, Xi is also scheduled to attend the 24th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in capital Lima. “It is believed that the two ancient civilisations, respectively located on the east and west coast of the Pacific Ocean, will write a new chapter of friendship under the political guidance of the two heads of state,” Jia added.