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Sino-ROK normalization has brought enormous economic and trade benefits to both countries, but over two decades of ever-closer “partnership” between Beijing and Seoul, South Korea has never gained the level of strategic support from Beijing that it has desired as leverage in dealing with North Korea. 

August 28, 2015

News stories this week highlight public diplomacy activities out of Africa. 

Viet Nam and Cambodia, at a high-ranking meeting in Phnom Penh yesterday, agreed to co-operate further to implement the co-operation agreements they signed in the field of religion and belief. Co-operation in the field of religion would help facilitate belief and religious activities undertaken by people in the two countries, thus, contributing to strengthen the traditional relationship on the principle of respecting sovereignty and laws of each country....

Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said Friday that he intends to reopen political dialogue with Russia, amid growing estrangement between Moscow and the E.U. Jensen said that despite rising tensions, dealing with Russia was a diplomatic necessity. “Even though Russia is a major threat, we can’t find a crane large enough to move it. Russia is situated geographically where it is and that means that we need to deal with it,” he said.

Pakistan and India have a history of holding non-starter talks which goes back to 1960s when the then foreign ministers Swaran Singh and ZA Bhutto held successive rounds of negotiations without any output. It is therefore the need of the hour that the Foreign Office, in consultation with all the stakeholders, should prepare a well defined agenda to discuss issues at the NSA level rather than discussing peripheral non-issues.

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