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Cultural diplomacy is not a new concept. In international relations, it gained popularity
when the United Nations appointed an actor, singer, and comedian Danny Kaye as its first
Goodwill Ambassador in 1954. It is a concept generally understood as a type of soft power
where it deploys a country’s culture in support of its foreign policy goals. Yet, for a
heterogeneous country like Malaysia, putting it into practice is a challenging task
considering Malaysia’s culturally diverse demography. On 13 March 2022, a special
Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on Cultural Diplomacy premiered on Astro Awani in this
riveting discourse. The RTD was co-organised by the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign
Relations (IDFR) together with the Ministry of Foreign A airs, Malaysia (MOFA) and the
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, as well as Astro Awani. The
RTD invited three prominent figures and experts in the field as the discussants. They were
Professor and Holder of Al-Ghazali Chair at International Institute of Islamic Thought and
