Representatives from Egypt, other African nations and Japan met in Nairobi, Kenya, for the launch of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Summit. According to TICAD’s official website, the conference aims to highlight the importance and urgency of development issues in the African continent, as well as to “promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners.”

Turkey is a friend of China and a prominent country in the Middle East. [...] Chinese Deputy FM Zhang Ming visited Turkey shortly after the coup attempt, and he exchanged views with Turkish officials on the current situation of Turkey and the region along with bilateral relations between China and Turkey. This demonstrates China's emphasis on Turkish relations and friendship towards the Turkish people.

Former president César Gaviria recently recalled that his son had once asked him how peace would be achieved in Colombia. “In bits and pieces,” he told him. Making peace between multiple factions is like three-dimensional chess – a fact that will not be lost on those trying to bring peace to Syria. Reducing the complexity is essential, the Colombia experience shows.

On International Youth Day, which is celebrated annually on Aug. 12, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chose Palestinian youth Hussein Murtaja from Gaza City to be part of the Advisory Group of Experts for Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security. [...] This group includes 21 youth experts who work in the framework of a project with the aim of finding a new role the youth can play in peace and security building.

A year has passed since Germany opened its doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees and Chancellor Angela Merkel uttered her famous mantra – Wir schaffen das. We can do it. Her critics at home have grown louder over the past year [...] But how has the refugee crisis impacted Germany's international reputation as a steadfast ally, an economic powerhouse and a country with a troubled history?

The heads of missions of five Asean countries based in Dubai met in a networking event for the first time with leaders of their communities on Monday to discuss future areas of collaboration [...] “As a community, you need really to have a very good people-to-people interaction. What’s more important is this is our first public diplomacy programme by all the Asean consuls” Yousuf said.
 

Soft power refers to the ability to change what others think and do through attraction and persuasion rather than compulsion and coercion. Scholars are still divided and failed to agree on an exact definition of soft power which remains loose and vague.

Cultural diplomacy takes political diplomacy a step further. It is a more three-dimensional approach, where there is vastly more investment in understanding the background, culture and history of a group of people, while simultaneously focusing on using love to achieve lasting peaceful negotiations.