1.   Australia shows that it is possible for a meat-and-potatoes country to boost its ties to and understanding of the chopstick belt.

2.   The goal of the conference is to educate Americans about Africa and boost commercial ties between the United States and the continent,

3.   Pakistan and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to boost defense ties and increase trade, saying that they shared similar views on regional and international issues.

4.   Pakistani Prime minister Benazir Bhutto arrived Tuesday for talks with Syrian leaders to boost bilateral ties and discuss the Middle East peace process.

5.   Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes urged Southeast Asian neighbors to boost security ties to defeat terrorism in the region, warning it could sap foreign investment and the economies.

6.   Philippine President Joseph Estrada will make state visits to Argentina and Chile to boost ties, his spokesman said Thursday.

7.   Alawi said that Oman will boost ties with the new Israeli government after it starts working toward peace with its neighbors.

8.   Aliev said he hoped the visit will boost bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and Romania.

9.   As Russia boosts ties with NATO, it will also maintain close links to China in an effort to strengthen global stability, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

10.   Assad, who was expected to discuss boosting military ties with Moscow, planned to arrive Monday afternoon.