Diplomatica
Brazil’s rise as a ‘soft power’ on the world stage
Since the emergence of the BRIC as a group to be reckoned with in the global economy, Brazil’s economic, social, political and diplomatic actions have drawn added attention from governments, think tanks and the media. Not being a military power (it has no nuclear weapons), unlike most of its BRIC partners (Russia, China and India), […]
Getting the world’s most impoverished nation on its feet
Frantz Liautaud is Haiti’s first ambassador to Canada in five years. The son of a diplomat, he comes to diplomacy from the world of business. Prior to his appointment as ambassador, he was president of the Haitian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The former property developer — has a civil engineering degree from the School […]
Indonesia and Canada: boosting relations
By Dienne H. Moehario Ambassador of Indonesia In its relations with Canada, Indonesia’s priority is enhancing bilateral relations between our two countries. The year 2012 was an important one because Indonesia and Canada celebrated the 60th Anniversary of diplomatic relations, in October 2012. The spirit of the celebration was maintained throughout the year. Highlighting the […]
Iceland: Loonie or no loonie, we want to trade
By Thordur Aegir Oskarsson Ambassador of Iceland Four years ago, Iceland became the first victim of the global recession that was starting to crawl over the globe. The situation was magnified due to the recklessness of the domestic banking sector. GDP fell by 10 percent; the krona (Iceland’s currency) was depreciated by 50 percent; unemployment […]
Qatar: per capita, the world’s richest country
By Salem Mubarak Al-Shafi Ambassador of Qatar The Qatar government is using its vast oil and gas resources and the funds flowing from it to develop the country’s infrastructure, education and health facilities and modern hydrocarbon operations. With proven gas reserves of more than 900 trillion standard cubic feet in its North Field, and oil […]
Press freedom: the right to raise hell
Only a fraction of the world’s population experiences a free press Laura Neilson Bonikowsky “It is a newspaper’s duty,” The Chicago Times observed in 1861, “to print the news and raise hell.” It is much easier to “print the news,” with or without hell-raising, when journalists are free to do their jobs. In North America, […]
An ambassadorial tour of Spain
By Carlos Gómez-Múgica Ambassador of Spain To write about my country is something that I love, especially to invite readers to visit Spain and to see it from a different perspective. Tourists, on their first visit especially, express amazement at Spain’s diversity. Not by chance has Spain been labelled a mosaic of history and cultures. […]
Canada’s principled move in Iran
John Baird’s surprise decision to pull the plug on diplomatic relations with Iran is one that was long overdue. But it is a principled decision against a pariah regime that sends the simple message: Enough is enough. The fact that Baird made the announcement on his way to Vladivostok just before the APEC summit struck […]
Internet wars
By Fen Osler Hampson and Gordon S. Smith At the end of the year, the nations of the world will convene at the Gulf port city of Dubai to renegotiate key provisions of the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR), a UN treaty that governs the use of the airwaves, but not the internet. It is already […]
A reflection on responsibility: What does Syria mean for R2P?
By Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock The world has watched in frustration as the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad of Syria has turned its weapons against its own citizens to suppress an insurgency and cling to power. The shocking estimates of civilian casualties (some as high as 20,000) don’t measure the untold misery of the […]
Recent Comments