A cultural, sports and tourism exchange programme between Vietnamese and Lao border provinces will take place from August 16 in Vietnam’s central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Binh and Ha Tinh and Laos’ Xiengkhoang, Bolykhamsay and Khammouan provinces.

Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama met Thursday with Chinese President Hu Jintao's special envoy Li Liguo, who arrived here to attend Friday's scheduled funeral of Ghana's late President John Evans Atta Mills. Mills died on July 24 at the age of 68 at a military hospital in Accra. During the meeting, Mahama said "China is a true friend of Africa, not only in terms of economic cooperation, but also in terms of political solidarity."

South Korea's president on Friday made a surprise, election-year visit to islets also claimed by Japan, which quickly reasserted its sovereignty there, recalled its ambassador from Seoul and warned that the trip would worsen the countries' strained relations. President Lee Myung-bak's trip to the tiny, rocky outcroppings between the countries was the first by a South Korean president, officials in his office said.

Relations between Indonesia and Namibia have matured to a point of good friendship since they were inaugurated 21 years ago. It was their historical background that initially helped lay the foundation for close ties between the two countries. Back then, Indonesia, being a promoter of decolonization of all Asian and African nations, was working together with SWAPO in the UN forum during the struggle for Namibia’s liberation. After independence, the two countries witnessed huge changes and progress.

After Japan, now the Dutch fashion industry collaborates with Indian designers for a collection that will debut on the opening day of WIFW Spring Summer 2013, starting Oct 6.
Co-initiated by the FDCI foundation, HTNK Fashion recruitment and consultancy foundation and House of Denim, the programme is titled "Dutch Fashion Here & Now India" (DFH&NI). It will see Indian names Suneet Varma, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna teaming up with Dutch fashion house.

In early August, Nizhny Novgorod hosted an international conference on the future of the Eurasian Union, "Public Diplomacy and Eurasian Rapprochement: Supporters and Skeptics". Experts from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Moldova discussed the current problems of integration in the former Soviet Union. The organizer of the event was the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.

The practice of public diplomacy has evolved over past decades towards countries such as Egypt. From cultural exchanges and international development efforts of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Jimmy Carter peace initiatives with the U.S. and other allies, the relations between the U.S. and Egypt have been defined by numerous public diplomacy initiatives. Likewise, the challenges the U.S. faces in engaging and “winning” audiences in the Middle East have also drastically changed, over the last ten years.

APDS Blogger: Lydia Marcos