economic diplomacy
The world of the Indian diplomat has changed. An important chronicler of this change has been former diplomat Kishan Singh Rana (IFS, 1960), ambassador and high commissioner to many countries and author of many books including Managing Corporate Culture (2000)...
Leaders from five of the world's top emerging economies will gather in China mid-next month to discuss economic, financial and security concerns, the Chinese government said on Thursday, setting a date for the "BRICS" summit.
The skyline of this city -- what little there is of it -- is a Chinese creation...These highly visible investments, increasingly unavoidable across Africa, are designed to buy influence with governments.
Products are effective ambassadors for many countries. For Germany, other than soccer, cars and beer are top envoys. The “Swiss” army knife is known worldwide...Though those attributes also reflect stereotypes, they help states to create positive associations with them. The examples show how closely linked economic diplomacy, public diplomacy, nation and place branding are.
“Mucize Kuruyemiş Fındık Diyarı Türkiye” –“The Miracle Hazelnut comes from Turkey” shines in bold red letters on small packages of nuts. The flight attendant on this Turkish Airways flight TK0829 to Istanbul hands out another round of snacks. The white crescent moon and star decorate all treats. Later on, I learn that Turkey is a leader in hazelnut production, earning about 825.9 million U.S. Dollars from exports. As mentioned in historical documents, the hazelnut has grown for 2300 years on the Black Sea coast in the north of Turkey.
Chinese leaders repeatedly assure other nations that they have nothing to fear from China's "peaceful rise" - its emergence as a major economic and diplomatic player on the global stage. There are indications, however, that China's increasing economic strength is translating into applications of influence and power that are less benign than Beijing would have the world believe.
Brazil has profited handsomely over the past decade from its economic relationship with China. Exports to the People's Republic have shot up nearly 20-fold since 2000, and last year alone, Brazil enjoyed a bilateral trade surplus of $5.2 billion, largely thanks to China's seemingly insatiable appetite for iron ore and soybeans.
In a report released this week, the Enough Project ranks electronics companies based on their progress on eliminating 'conflict minerals' from their products. Consumers should take note.