Public diplomacy humanizes the economic, cultural, and political relationships we are working to build. As Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, I work to extend avenues of opportunity to those affected by our policy. And that is the first point I’d like to make: that people – citizens – today are increasingly driving global events, and must therefore be front and center in formulating and executing policy. You need policy and public diplomacy.

The writer also had a 45-minute meeting with Mr Morsi. The Syrian crisis and the relationship with the neighbours were among the topics. But the Ethiopian dam crisis was the focal point, with Mr Morsi saying he preferred the "soft power" way to handle it.

We also had the referendum and as others have said, it was very well conducted. We had an outstanding turn-out and result. And as a result of that we have all been around various countries around the world on the public diplomacy front.

The forum will host President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud, former US ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering, Egyptian Minister for International Co-operation and Development Amr Darrag, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs undersecretary Tara Sonenshine and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, among others.

US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine will travel to Qatar to attend the annual US-Islamic World Forum, the State Department announced in a statement on Friday.

Qalibaf, who is the mayor of Tehran, also cited national solidarity, active regional diplomacy, economic diplomacy, public diplomacy, and prudent resistance as the most important tools for activating the country’s diplomacy on the global stage.

Chen Mingming, a member of China's foreign ministry's Public Diplomacy Advisory Panel, said China and the US do not have substantial disputes when dealing with issues on the Korean Peninsula.

Ruan Zongze, a deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies, said the cyber security issue has been exacerbated by the US military, business and intelligence fields, and the two sides need to establish a mechanism for negotiations while maintaining their own cyber security defenses.