Europeans have every reason to worry about U.S. President Donald Trump. He has declared NATO “obsolete.” He’s spoken more glowingly about Russian President Vladimir Putin than about most Western European leaders. And he’s suggested he will apply his transactional vision of diplomacy to his country’s alliances. [...] Its European members must show unity of purpose and vision: The time has come to create a European pillar of NATO.

The dominant foreign policy vision animating left and right in recent years has been promiscuous intervention. While elites disagreed on tactics and targets, both major political parties shared a belief that Washington should micro-manage the world. [...] However, national interest is not enough. America’s approach should be enlightened, in which a concern for others tempers Washington’s role around the globe.

This week in Gwangju, we also see cultural diplomacy in action. "With support from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, some 100 participants and their families and communities have come together with a team of dancers from Battery Dance, a New York-based contemporary dance company, to help build understanding and bridge divides." 

Despite the new U.S. President's well-known openness toward the Kremlin, I can think of no relationship where public diplomacy and exchanges are more important or harder to do than the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will propose new Cabinet-level US-Japan talks on trade, security and macroeconomic issues, including currencies, when he meets US President Donald Trump today, a Japanese government official involved in planning the summit said. 

The US can be a natural partner to Sri Lanka as it progresses on the challenging transformative journey, to develop the nation as a modern democracy, rapidly integrating with the world of business and trade, in peace and friendship, for the mutual benefit of both countries, the Ambassador said.  

Kosovo always enjoyed a special relationship with the United States. After Trump’s election, however, a resurgent Russia (Serbia’s backer) and an intransigent United States puts the special relationship at-risk. [...] Kosovo must demonstrate its value to the Trump administration. Greater security cooperation would serve Trump’s “America First” agenda. It would also advance Kosovo’s interests.