Turkish President Abdullah Gul received his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in the capital city of Ankara on Monday, expressing his hopes towards enhanced cooperation between the two countries. "Turkey and India have a big potential of cooperation in many fields. We believe this cooperation in the fields of business, investment, finance and commerce will step up in a short period of time," Gul told during a dinner with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in the capital city of Ankara.

The Gulf emirate of Dubai Announced Monday an ambitious plan to Establish itself as the main global center for Islam-compliant products and services within three years. The glitzy city-state, Which has alreadycreated Established itself as a global hub for air transport and transit trade, as well as a regional financial center, is hoping to be the pivot of the large and widespread Islamic economy.

The Mexican oil industry, long a state monopoly, appears to be on the verge of opening itself to outsiders. In August, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto presented a proposal to allow national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, to enter into joint ventures, and for private oil companies to operate their own projects in profit-sharing agreements with the government. Mexico's opposition parties have their own proposals.

Brazil’s plummeting currency and rising consumer prices have been making life difficult for its businesses and citizens, and prolonging its economic funk. But there a signs of gradual improvement. Here are three recent trends in Latin America’s largest economy worth celebrating.

Colombia’s Minister of Commerce Sergio Diaz-Granados welcomed a Singaporean mission of entrepreneurs to explore potential in innovation, sustainable development, IT, agribusiness and the hydrocarbon sectors. Yet most of Singapore’s business interest, according to the Ministry, falls within the services sector, like tech and BPOs.

Projects funded by the Chinese include gyms and stadiums in Ghana, a hospital in Zambia and an opera house in Algeria. We also look at a Chinese footwear manufacturer's plans to create a global hub for the shoe industry in Ethiopia, and discuss reaction in China to the government's huge investments in Africa. Browse it all on our series page.

Not too long ago, Brand India was riding high. Now, it is fast losing some of its sheen. The country has been beset with a series of scams and governance issues; foreign investors are plagued by uncertainties in taxation; and recently, the Central Statistical Office has pegged the country’s GDP growth for the current fiscal 2012-2013 at 5% — the lowest since 2002-2003. In fact, last year, credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) released a study titled, “Will India be the first BRIC fallen angel?”

Lobbying for foreign interests is a half billion dollar industry in the U.S. and nearly every country in the world devotes considerable resources to lobbying officials in Washington... In fact, just one lobbying firm, Patton Boggs, lobbies for nearly half of the world's population. And, one in every ten dollars spent on lobbying in the U.S. comes from foreign governments."