Public diplomacy has always been an essential part of NATO’s mission.  NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) understands that in order to keep our people safe and to protect the values we hold dear – democracy, individual liberty, human rights and the rule of law – we must have the support of the public. Public diplomacy is about making sure that the public understands what NATO is, what it wants to achieve, and how it tries to achieve it. 

Do you know something about Luxembourg most people don't? Or maybe you have a specific angle on a well-known Luxembourgish subject, place or activity? If so, then Luxembourg's Economy Ministry is hoping to recruit you as a "guide for one day" as part of its latest nation-branding effort. The guided tours that will be offered through this initiative will start from June 23 and can range from local life, night life, shopping, history, Luxembourgish markets, cafés and gastronomy to leisure and sports.

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday met with his special envoys and emphasized the need to normalize diplomatic affairs. “The new government inherited grave diplomatic and security circumstances, and summit diplomacy has been put on hold for more than six months. Sending the special envoys is the beginning of summit diplomacy,” Moon was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun following the president’s meeting with the envoys.

The Trump administration is considering folding the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) into the State Department and making deep cuts to both foreign assistance and diplomacy. These proposals spring from the vaguely articulated principle of “America First” and a belief that the United States spends too much money on foreign assistance and not enough on its own people. This idea is designed to save the taxpayers money and make the country safer. It accomplishes neither. 

India’s and Turkey’s bilateral relations have been marked by cordiality and warmth since the establishment of their diplomatic relationship in 1948. However, the Pakistan factor has overshadowed Indo-Turkey relations during the last several decades. The bilateral ties between Turkey and Pakistan has been tied and strengthened by their historical and religious legacies.

A two-year project to bring safe, affordable drinking water to more than 50,000 of the poorest residents in Nairobi, Kenya, has now been inaugurated after successful completion earlier this year. The initiative was co-funded by OFID (the OPEC Fund for International Development), the UK Government’s Department for International Development and Borealis and Borouge through their joint corporate social responsibility programme Water for the World™. Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) was responsible for implementation and project management.

A senior European Union official has urged Myanmar to allow full aid access to the north of Rakhine state, where thousands have fled their homes after a months-long army crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. The area along the country's northwestern border has been under lockdown since October, when the military launched a campaign to hunt down Rohingya militants who staged deadly attacks on police posts.