Mr Coghlan is helping find ways to build cultural connections and "soft power diplomacy" between the two countries, by taking designers and Australian fashion industry representatives into China - and vice versa. "There's still a knowledge gap in the Australian industry on how China operates and ways to do business with China in the fashion sector, so we're continuing to work on that and build China relevant capabilities," Mr Coghlan said.

The emphasis that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid on setting and revamping India’s foreign policy agenda is indeed laudable. In his foreign trips, there has been a constant focus on creating a perception around and effectively projecting ‘Brand India’. It is here that the importance of public diplomacy comes in. 

Europe and Iran have common interests in several areas. In light of their historical and traditional bilateral relations as well as other positive sources, such as the existence of complementary economies, mutually-beneficial cooperation in the fields of energy and technology [...] through both collective and bilateral mechanisms, it is possible to actively pursue the struggle against the important threats such as terrorism, violence, extremism, drug trafficking.

The overwhelming impression given by the bulk of historical scholarship on pre-modern China’s foreign relations, as well as by official dynastic histories, is that generally the Chinese empire sustained its regional pre-eminence through civilisational and economic ‘soft power’ while adopting a defensive military posture and conservative grand strategy.

Smart power is needed to defeat terrorism. Smart power is the ability to combine hard military and police power and the soft power of attraction and persuasion.

"Cool Japan Heats Up” declares a sign welcoming visitors to an area of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) devoted to the country’s hottest pop culture exports. Now in its second year, USJ’s “Universal Cool Japan” event features special attractions that run until June 26. It promises to deliver “the finest of Japanese entertainment to the world” — assuming everyone who wants to receive it can fly to Osaka.