The conference was opened with a welcome speech from the Advisor to HM the King and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Derasat, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar, in which he described a strategic triangle, Iran, the GCC and the USA that defines the current balance of regional security.

“If you tap this untapped resource, it would be incredibly valuable for the economy of Slovakia,” adds Sedgwick, the US Ambassador to Slovakia who, along with encouraging women’s entrepreneurship, has been preoccupied with explaining different aspects of the presidential elections in his homeland for the Slovak audience, which, he says displays considerable interest in the American presidential race.

The recently tabled report on Australia's Overseas Representation – Punching below our weight? by the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee of the Australian Parliament confirmed what many concerned stakeholders such as the Lowy Institute, peak business groups, DFAT chiefs and operatives, aid organisations and diasporas have been saying for a long time.

What the people think of their leadership and government will be increasingly reflected not in the traditional print and TV media, but in the digital media and in the blogs and micro-blogs of the digital world. The digital image of China in the international net community will increasingly influence governmental and non-governmental perceptions of China.

The paradox of Indonesia’s foreign policy is that since independence, it has placed primacy on the country’s political standing while marginalizing its economic interests. This is paradoxical because most nations start with the construction of economic power as the basis for political bargaining in the world arena.

t’s a wildly popular website laden with unlicensed songs and Hollywood movies, a prime exhibit of the digital piracy that affects the music industry in Asia and eroding legitimate online sales around the world. But a few clicks inside the free-to-download bonanza that has pushed Vietnam’s Zing.vn into the globe’s top 550 websites reveals a surprising presence, the American government, which maintains a bustling social media account on the site.

If not for a lottery on the micro blog of the Italian embassy's culture office, Wang Yueyue, a fan of traditional Chinese operas, may never have thought of listening to an Italian one. "I haven't watched any foreign operas because I'm afraid my local ears can't get used to them. Besides, you know, anything foreign in China costs too much," said Wang, a Beijing resident in her 30s.

The screening room of the public library in the U.S. Embassy is dim and quiet. Around 20 pairs of eyes are locked on the flat screen Sony TV at the front as the theme song to The West Wing rises to a crescendo.