Each border control officer then reached under his desk and, with a practiced move, returned every passport with an unexpected object. It was a 200-milliliter bottle of red wine, packed in a crimson gift box and stamped: “Welcome to the Land of 8,000 Vintages.”

The presence of Russophobic sentiment in Armenia is already not a secret. The secret for the majority of Armenian society, including its Russophobic part, is the real causes of these trends in the country, which is considered an age-old partner and friend of the Russian people.

In a conference on ‘Pak-Brazil relations,’ participants highlighted development of soft power, sustained macro-economic stability and conflict-free environment as keys to progress scored by Brazil in the last two years from which Pakistan should learn lessons.

When I first started out in cultural diplomacy, I was surprised to learn that a very girly manga Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You)--which is about a girl who doesn't realize she's fallen in love--was popular in Italy and Spain. But that's old news. Since then, I've learned that people's sensibilities and emotions are the same across all borders.

Cultural and linguistic boundaries blurred as Rabindranath Tagore's poetry was set to a dance and Hungarian poetry composed by national icons like Endre Ady was recited in Hindi and in Hungarian. All this when 15 poets and writers from the two countries assembled here under the "Poetry Across Cultures" to read and exchange over musings of love, cadence and friendship.

Georgia has now set a goal of welcoming 5 million Russian tourists by 2020 — more than one Russian for every Georgian. If Georgia succeeds in spoiling millions of Russian tourists every year with fine wines, rich meals and warm hospitality, this could do the most to defeat the Kremlin's cold war in the Southern Caucasus.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday established the Department of International Economic Affairs to serve economic diplomacy, which is increasingly important in China's diplomatic blueprint. The move shows that Beijing has recognized its increasing power in the economic field and is moving forward to make better use of it, Chinese experts said.

My interest in Pakistan and its people didn't start with politics. Although Pakistan was far away from my Jewish American experience, from the few encounters I had with Pakistani people, I must have instinctively identified – or projected – notions I thought I recognised: Like Israelis and Jews, Pakistanis are also a people with a new country, born of turmoil and trauma (around the same time as Israel) and still under construction.