Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Orabi said Egypt would adopt the principle of "soft power" in its foreign policy, taking into account the social, economic and cultural dimensions of relationships. The minister also said the foreign policy would be in complete harmony with the 25 January revolution, adding that it aims to retain Egypt’s leading regional and international roles.

...the approach adopted by El-Arabi in pursuing this renewed focus on Africa, as well as the public diplomacy initiatives launched by Egypt post-revolution, had much greater credibility.

Search #endSH on Twitter today, June 20, and you will find a flood of tweets from men and women in Egypt and elsewhere in the region bemoaning and berating the prevalence of sexual harassment in Egypt's streets – and crowdsourcing ways to combat it.

The new top diplomat described the United States and European Union as essential partners to Egypt, he adding, noting that he believed more in Egypt's soft power, thus he will seek to enhance the cultural and developmental dismensions in the foreign policy.

It was the dismal failure of Egyptian leadership in the region that was at the heart of the Arab predicament and the deep admiration of Turkey’s growing soft power. With the Arab Spring and particularly Egypt’s revolution, Cairo is now slowly re-emerging as the most likely candidate to fill the vacuum of strategic leadership in the Arab world.

Turkey is the topic of interest: meetings are being held to discuss it, and writers, journalists, bloggers and even tweeters write incessantly about the lessons the Turkish model holds for Egypt at this crucial juncture while the country readies for a democratic transformation following the great uprising...

Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Mohammad Hosseini voiced Tehran and Cairo's willingness to strengthen bilateral ties, specially in area of culture. On May 30, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi voiced confidence about the improvement of relations between Iran and Egypt, but meantime said that resuming ties between the two Muslim states needs time and patience.

This visit was not just about learning for Egyptian youth. It was also a great example of the “public diplomacy” which we have been hearing so much about recently, and a great sign that Turkish statesmen and Turkey have really learned this business well.