The 2016 Pan-African Executive Summit - one of Africa’s most ‘unique and high which draws Business leaders from 35 countries across Africa and all around the globe is set to convene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 15-16. 

Michelle Obama doesn't accompany her husband that frequently when he travels abroad. But when it comes to his historic trip to Cuba, it's different. [...] The first lady will accompany President Obama to both his visit to the island nation next month, as well as his subsequent two-day stop in Argentina. According to White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, her presence serves to advance public diplomacy.

In the two years since Germany’s president, foreign minister, and defence minister signalled that their country would take on a larger role in international affairs, the country’s leaders have received a crash course in geopolitical realism.

While global leaders who gathered at the World Economic Forum's meeting debate solutions to social, political and economic uncertainty, quietly a new force is gaining credibility around the world: the desire for "soft power."

Qatar’s brand is now the ninth-most powerful in the world, according to an annual ranking released by UK-based consulting firm ‘Brand Finance’ in 2015. As a progressive country, Qatar, through its visionary leadership, has used many strategies, in particular its soft power, to enhance its position in the international community. 

Safa Hajjaj is on her way home to Morocco, having come to the US in September 2014 as an Atlas Corps fellow at the Meridian International Center in Washington, DC. Dedicated to addressing critical social issues, Atlas Corps, according to its website, "develops leaders, strengthens organizations and promotes innovation through an overseas fellowship of skilled professionals."

What makes a country the best? Is it leadership? Military might? Economic strength? A rich and deep vein of culture and history? Freedom, a stable government and transparency when it comes to business and the political process? In a word, yes. All of the above contribute to how people perceive what makes one country better than another – and ultimately which one ranks as the best overall.