Aid diplomacy is an important part of the overall U.S. public diplomacy strategy. As a global power, the U.S. is part of international efforts...to alleviate poverty, provide humanitarian relief, support economic and social policies, and address global problems.

More than 450 of the world's leading water experts gathered in Chapel Hill, N.C., Oct. 3-7 for the second annual conference on "Water and Health: Where Science Meets Policy." Hosted by the Gillings School of Global Public Health's Water Institute at UNC and the College of Arts and Sciences' UNC Institute for the Environment, the conference focused upon water-related research, education and outreach. Attendees from 30 countries represented a wide range of organizations, including the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CARE, U.S.

It seems to me, whether it’s called soft power or smart power, it’s a very wise thing to do to invest in development, and it’s very short-sighted to not see the link between our national security and what’s going on anywhere in the world.

One of USAID’s key objectives, said Mr. Miller, is to assist countries and regional institutions in the Pacific to increase adaptive capacity and resilience to the negative impacts of climate change.

When USAID -- the agency tasked with representing American interests worldwide by improving lives outside of U.S. borders--succeeds, we all benefit. We invest less than 1% of the federal budget in strengthening the health and economic development in other countries, and we get incredible results.

"All public diplomacy is moving away from the idea of a single voice toward an emphasis on coalitions, especially cooperation with [nongovernmental organizations]," says Nicholas Cull, a fellow at the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.

The U.S. government hashas funded thousands of programs that not only help people in the developing world, but work to maintain vital transnational relationships... The foreign affairs budget also funds scholarship and exchange programs that bring foreign students and community leaders to the United States to study, network, and engage in cultural exchange.