Ambassador Dr. Desta W/Yohannes, Director General of Women’s Affairs in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke of the vital role of women as an agents of development in international relations, and in international peace-keeping and peace-building processes.

The US State Department announced a drastic 50 percent funding cut for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program. At a time when our two countries need to work together more closely on numerous transatlantic and global issues, slashing this successful program is the wrong decision for German-American relations.

In a move aimed at easing Western sanctions and its economic isolation, along with promoting higher education development and regional cooperation, Iran is continuing to establish more branch campuses of its universities across the Arab states.

The forum is being organized in three sessions, discussing three topics: Vietnam-RoK relations - economic and foreign affairs co-operation; the Korean Peninsula and regional political situation, and bilateral cultural issues.

Menéndez and her small team toiled each year to share the cultural exchange between the Bay Area and Andalucia, the southern Spanish soil into which Spanish, Moorish and gypsy cultures are baked. Each year they were met with enthusiastic audiences and artists, and she says that artistically, the festival has been a huge success.

It's normal to run across SXSW showcases in Austin funded by foreign countries helping their local musicians attempt to break into the world's largest music market. It's unusual to find a showcase with six acts from Pakistan on a trip paid for by the U.S. State Department.

The ambassadors of different French speaking nations have hosted an opening reception of Francophonie Festival with an array of cultural events here at Pakistan National Council of the Arts.