Iraq has been a difficult place for U.S. public diplomacy for a very long time now, and yet one would think that a war that the U.S. is fighting on behalf of and in collaboration with the Iraqi government and numerous other international partners, a war that is truly an existential one for Iraqi Shia, would produce at least some dividends in terms of Iraqi goodwill toward the United States. 

Launched in 2009 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the program seeks to enhance local youths’ international perspective and encourages them to explore the world and cultivate relationships. One-hundred university students took part in this year’s edition, themed “Dynamic Youth, Friendly Taiwan,” and completed six weeks of training before making three-week visits to 17 cities in 16 countries.

The Strategy lays out a whole-of-government approach to fighting hunger around the world and includes agency-specific implementation plans as required by the Global Food Security Act of 2016, whichPresident Obama signed into law in July. This bipartisan legislation solidified the U.S. Government’s commitment to global food security and nutrition.

The administration further relaxed economic restrictions on Cuba Friday, allowing more collaboration on medical research, the approval of Cuban drugs for import and the lifting of monetary limits on cigars and rum imports.The moves make the U.S. openings to Cuba "irreversible," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel discussed the Islamic State’s influential social media presence and how the U.S. can counter it on campus Thursday. The 90-minute discussion [...] focused on the work of the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a State Department anti-extremism initiative, which Stengel oversees. 

India and United States are working together to solve the world's toughest challenges through people-to-people exchange programs said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan. Ryan asserted that during her last visit to India she learned that how cultural and educational exchange programs are crucial to the U.S.-India relationship.

There is increasing evidence that we may end up with a hard Brexit. Britain will activate Article 50: the UK will retain control of its own borders, but without access to the single market or European passporting for its financial services industry. While many would portray this as a failure of diplomacy, it may be a smart negotiating tactic.

he talks were held during the Danish Foreign Minister’s official visit to Vietnam from October 11-12. [...] The two countries will enhance cultural-sports-tourism exchange to raise mutual understanding between the two peoples, accelerate the official signing of the Vietnam-European Union free trade agreement, thereby creating a framework to expand bilateral trade and investment in the future.