“The Indonesian government has always been active in various international forums to push other countries to do the same thing, including ASEAN. We also discussed the issue in the Palestine Committee [in Tehran] during the Non-Alligned Movement meeting,”

WASHINGTON –
All of U.S. international broadcasting could soon report to a new czar at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, under a plan contained in BBG’s budget request for FY 2014.

Last month the Economist published a brace of articles setting in motion a spirited debate over whether India has a strategic culture. The authors draw an unfavorable contrast between neighboring China, whose "rise is a given," and India, which "is still widely seen as a nearly-power that cannot quite get its act together." They catalogue several factors that purportedly explain New Delhi's underperformance in diplomacy and strategy.

The financial city will see participation of over 300 global experts, policy makers and marketing gurus all come together to deliberate on the theme “The New Economic Order and World Trade Centers” at the noteworthy event that ensues from Apr 21 to 24.

The mentor’s tone of the United States is standing in the way of the further development of Russian-U.S. relations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. “The present difficulties in relations stem from a number of unfriendly steps taken by the American side that provoked a furious response in Russian society,” he said at a session of the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Popular Diplomacy on Thursday.

Russia declared an Estonian diplomat persona non grata two weeks after the Baltic nation’s prime minister visited the country for the first time. Franek Persidski, Estonia’s consul general in Russia’s second-biggest city of St. Petersburg, has returned home, Minna- Liina Lind, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, said today in an e-mailed response to questions.

Australia should work harder on its official and unofficial diplomacy to strengthen its ties to India, after a new survey revealed Indians had a mixed perception of the two countries' relationship. The nationwide survey of 1233 Indians, conducted in seven languages, found that Indians generally have a positive image of Australia, seeing it as a good place to get an education and raise a family.

Indonesia shared its experience with common developing countries at a South-South and Third Parties Cooperation Forum (SSTC) here on Wednesday, attended by among others, representatives from Palestine and Afghanistan. "This is part of our South-South and Third Parties cooperation programme aimed at sharing our experience particularly in sectors that we have been good at," the director general of information and public diplomacy of the ministry of foreign affairs, AM Fachir, said.