Engaging in cultural exchange and trade with North Korea would be more productive than the US's existing failed policy. [...] A good, very small start toward for the long-term goal of undermining the regime rather than pursuing a short-term goal of trying to talk them off nuclear weapons would be to make cultural exchanges between the two countries.

This renewed “commercial diplomacy” between the United States and Africa in the Obama administration has coincided with a rise in U.S. investment into Africa. Between 2009 and 2013, U.S. goods and service exports to Africa grew 40 percent and totaled $50.2 billion.

An Israeli “yes” could have done more for its image abroad than 100 public diplomacy videos, helped negate its current international image as a militaristic peace refusenik and shown that Israel can be a willing partner for peace. Or at least, it wouldn’t have provided further evidence to bolster that image. Now, all anyone’s going to remember about this latest episode is that France wanted to organize a peace conference, the Palestinians agreed to participate – and Israel refused.

Barack Obama's historic election as President of the United States in 2008 was the first time an American of African descent had ever held the United States' highest position. Because of the President's Kenyan roots, many Africans were particularly excited for what they hoped would be the start of a new era in relations between the United States and Africa.

Finland’s official promotion body is taking a new approach with its YouTube channel by handing it over to ten young experts in the medium. They will produce their own videos with just two stipulations: they have to be in English and in Finland. ThisisFinland, which operates under the Foreign Ministry, thinks this could be the first time a country promotion body has allowed guests to run its YouTube channel.

In 2016 interviews, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter compared the ISIS base in the Middle East to a tumor, demonstrating the cancer analogy had embedded in the administration’s thinking: "There are metastases elsewhere – Libya, Afghanistan…." The analogy, while sobering, offers a useful way to think about the strategies to challenge the Islamic State.

Asia is looking to complete a major economic agreement by early 2017 that offers the chance to lift its growth closer to potential by locking in domestic reform and liberalisation through regional cooperation. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is Asia’s response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and heralds the next phase in Asian economic cooperation. 

President Park Geun-hye will become the first South Korean president to visit Iran as she departs for Tehran on Sunday morning. [...] As is customary now, President Park will also encourage Korean nationals living in Iran and attend a cultural exchange event showcasing Korea and Iran's traditional assets...