Jejomar Binay called for more opera diplomacy to improve and sustain friendly ties between the Philippines and Italy...."What we cannot achieve through the usual channels, I think opera might be a more viable and musical alternative," added Binay

The Chinese Culture Year, which ran from Oct. 7, 2010 to Jan. 14, was a very important cultural exchange event in the time since the two countries established ties more than 40 years ago, the Chinese ambassador to Italy said. "The event has a profound impact on the Italian people and laid a solid foundation for the healthy development of bilateral ties."

Some analysts see the strings of visits as a battle for influence in the region, a rivalry between those countries to exert soft power in the post-war country. "Strategically speaking, France is competing with Turkey. Both countries consider this region as a natural influence zone," Dorothee Shmid, a researcher at the Paris-based think-tank IFRI told Xinhua.

China has talked a great deal about using its currency reserves to project “soft power,” but when it comes to pulling the trigger, it has been extremely cautious about putting its money anywhere besides the safest and most liquid instruments. ... but there’s little evidence that China has actually weighed into these markets in any sizable way.

The world of diplomacy has been changing so fast in the past 20 or so years because of technology. Public diplomacy is also an important part of an Ambassador’s job. It is the way we present our country to the public. It has been shaped around the advancement in communication technologies and has gained great momentum in the past few years thanks to social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

Like the economy itself—though less noticed abroad—Italy’s ancient monuments and cultural heritage are crumbling. At stake is not just sentimental attachment to national monuments. Italy draws more than 45 million visitors every year, making tourism the country’s primary industry. Italy, as a brand, doesn’t just denote quality and beauty, but translates into euros.

The University of Indonesia (UI) signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with universities in four European countries: France, Germany, Italy and Spain. University official Devie Rahmawati told Antara news agency that the deal was aimed at establishing cooperation on education, research, cultural diplomacy, lecturer and student exchanges as well as increasing foreign student exchange.