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.

As NATO Contact Point in Kazakhstan, Ambassador of Estonia Jaan Reinhold hopes to share the values of the alliance in the country; bilaterally, the ambassador is hoping to see an increase in educational, technological and scientific exchanges during his mission here, as well increase agricultural and transit cooperation.

Ahead of hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics, the country is ramping up government-sponsored efforts to promote its culture abroad.

The State’s flagship arts company has struck a landmark trade deal with China, thanks to the universal language of music. Next year, the WA Symphony Orchestra will tour to China as part of a cultural exchange program with the Beijing-based China Philharmonic Orchestra announced in Perth last night.

Dubai will stage a seven-day interactive exhibition in Beijing, which will showcase the opportunities Dubai presents China and celebrate the thriving relationship, it was announced today.

People-to-people diplomacy, as part of public diplomacy, complements traditional and formal diplomacy. It has a significant impact on relations between nations since bilateral relations are not sustainable without solid public support.

China has voiced its concerns regarding Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in South Korea, offering Seoul to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) launched by Beijing in 2014.

Malaysia's government has unveiled plans to create a new airline and signed a $1.5bn (£1bn) deal with Bombardier for 20 new aircraft. The new carrier would be called flymojo and be based out of Johor Bahru in the south and Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia.