A surprisingly effective ambassador for brand India, Bollywood – a colloquial term for Hindi cinema – has done more to seal cultural ties and build bridges around the world than international diplomacy ever could. It is not just the sentimental appeal of Hindi films, the adulation for the industry is bolstered by its stars who are hero-worshipped by legions of adoring fans worldwide on- and off-screen. Whatever they touch turns into gold; wherever they go.

The Indo-American Association has scored a coup by booking the Martha Graham Dance Company for an October performance. The association also will stretch boundaries this year with a show of Indo-jazz fusion featuring some of the biggest names in that business [...] More broadly, the association's 2017 season embraces peace, love and tolerance across multiple art forms that strongly celebrate Indian culture.

Even as official talks between India and Pakistan continue to stagger, track-two diplomacy is flowing in Dubai, with politicians from both sides discussing better governance and bridge building. On Tuesday, more than a dozen parliamentarians, media bosses and technocrats from both sides convened in Dubai for a dialogue on governance.

Over the past few years, the UAE’s multitude of diplomatic initiatives have included cultural diplomacy — such as an exhibition of Emirati art that toured nine US cities over two years and was titled Past Forward. This was in addition to major artistic events the UAE hosts including the Sharjah Biennial, Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art that bring thousands of people together. [...] However, very few of us know about the UAE’s historic role in sports diplomacy.

The threads that connect India and Sri Lanka are many. From mythology to history to civilizational, cultural, commercial and people-to-people ties, there are layers and layers of what we mean for each other. We have the profound advantage of not having to look hard for similarities and bonds. The question is how to encash these advantages and maximise our mutual benefit?

Under a new foreign policy it adopted last year, Taiwan is seeking to woo more foreign students, including from India, to study in its institutes of higher learning. “The central focus of our New Southbound policy is to strengthen ties with Southeast Asia and India,” Rebecca Lan, Deputy Director General at the Department of International and Cross-Strait Education in Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, said during an interaction with a group of visiting journalists from the region here.

The Ministry of External Affairs is going to use documentaries to showcase India in the international arena as a part of its effort to strengthen India’s “soft power”. The External Publicity & Public Diplomacy (XPD) Division of Ministry of External Affairs has invited proposals from filmmakers to make documentary on “India—a science and technology super power” and three separate documentaries that will cover the architectural, cultural and natural heritage of India.