"The distinguished Pakistanis living abroad can also play a vital role to be a bridge between the countries of their residence and Pakistan and contribute towards expansion of business, trade and cultural relations. They can build goodwill and friendship between Pakistan and the world community through public and cultural diplomacy initiatives," Mr Malik said.

Is this “superpower” model going against the very fundamentals of India’s “soft power”? Three characteristics distinguish India: a 5,000-year-old extant, unbroken, well-documented, civilisational, cultural heritage; an overwhelming population of no less than 1.2 billion; and a living laboratory for pluralistic development without a common spoken language.

A new Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine — the first of its kind established with the cooperation of a foreign medical institute — is expected to open in September, said Gao Sihua, president of the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

These “Three Ts” don’t account for all of the changes which are transforming diplomatic practice in the 21st century. But they do go some the way towards providing an explanation of why so many governments are placing an increased reliance upon public diplomacy and branding to advance their international agendas.

In the previous three entries in this series I have tried to compare and contrast various aspects of public diplomacy

The jubilee is meant more as a unifier than a pacifier, and the national broadcaster is entrusted with gushing appropriately, often when nothing is happening but a bout of rain-washed punting. But the project of British propagandising looks like falling apart under examination.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) plan to merge the grantee-surrogate broadcasters into one large administrative structure is meeting with a strong opposition among both management and employees of Radio Free Asia (RFA) as a killer of effective journalism, efficient management and good labor relations.

The friendly sister city relationship between Vallejo and Jincheon-Gun, South Korea, has made progress, promoting friendly ties with one another over the past 10 years. Both cities have envisioned a friendly world where everyday citizens are empowered to act as ambassadors of their cities, connecting with one another to create good friendships and exchange cultural traditions.