India and New Zealand have decided to establish a joint education council to carry forward the education cooperation between the two countries. Both the countries have already signed an Education Exchange Programme during Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal's visit to New Zealand.

India has taken yet another step in furthering its cultural diplomacy in south-east Asia with a new Indian cultural centre in Seoul. President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Karan Singh, left for a week-long visit to Seoul where he will inaugurate the centre Thursday, ICCR said in a statement.

Against the backdrop of a sputtering economy and a spate of scandals battering India's global image, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is in Washington today. The visit -- largely touted as a damage-control and public relations initiative -- will see the senior minister...reinforce the message that the Indian growth story is still robust and that the country remains an attractive investment destination.

''Festival of India, a two-month long extravaganza exploring Indian culture, has been launched here with a performance by fusion musician Abhijit Pohankar and local group Medumo. The Festival is part of the South Africa-India Programme for Cultural Co-operation which the two countries were committed to during the SA-India Joint Ministerial Meeting which was held in India in March 2011.

Bollywood and cricket will blend with diplomacy when the prime ministers of India and New Zealand hold talks Tuesday to push a free trade area pact. Egging them on to do more business will be Stephen Fleming, the Kiwi cricket icon who is the coach for the IPL-winning Chennai Super Kings.

The government needs to have strong universities and think thanks where thinking on national security, foreign policy and international security is done... Careers in national security for young minds should be created. Security agencies should be professionalized. The government’s interface with the public through coordinated public diplomacy must be encouraged.

After decades of absorbing North America’s cultural diplomacy, India is returning the favour, with Indian government officials announcing plans to locate North America’s first Indian Cultural Centre in Toronto.