AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. In this article, the significance of the Raisina Dialogue is discussed.
Participants:
- Prof Harsh V Pant – Vice President, Studies and Foreign Policy, ORF
- Simran Sodhi – Journalist
Context:
- India’s Prime Minister inaugurated the seventh edition of the Raisina Dialogue in the presence of chief guest Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union Commission President.
What is the Raisina Dialogue?
- Raisina Dialogue is India’s premier foreign policy and geoeconomics conference.
- The conference is a joint venture of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the independent think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
- It is organised along the lines of the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore.
Raisina Dialogue 2022:
- Theme: “Terranova: Impassioned, Impatient, and Imperilled”
6 Pillars of Raisina Dialogue 2022:
Over the course of three days, the dialogue will feature panel discussions across multiple formats on six thematic pillars. These are:
- Rethinking democracy: Trade, Tech and Ideology
- End of Multilateralism: A Networked Global Order?
- Water Caucuses: Turbulent Tides in the Indo-Pacific
- Communities Inc: First Responders to Health, Development, and Planet
- Achieving Green Transitions: Common Imperative, Diverging Realities
- Samson vs Goliath: The Persistent and Relentless Tech Wars
Raisina Dialogue 2022 and its Significance
- India as a Global Power: Since its inception, the Raisina Dialogue has emerged as a leading global conference on international affairs featuring the participation of heads of state, ministers, journalists, academics and researchers.
- India’s Geopolitical Aspirations: India’s premier multilateral foreign policy and geo-economics conference will focus on six pillars covering a range of contemporary issues from democracy to technology to global health to the Indo-Pacific region.
- Ukraine Crisis: Raisina Dialogue 2022 assumes greater significance in the backdrop of the unfolding invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Defending India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the External Affairs Minister reminded Europe that rules-based order is under serious challenge in Asia.
- International Platform for Global Issues: The Dialogue provides a platform for the government to state its position on various questions and issues of international relations. The event gives many experts, and other countries, a glimpse into the Indian government’s near-term priorities in international relations. Thus, the Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics.
- Boost Research and Growth of Think Tanks: The Dialogue provides a golden chance for young scholars and researchers to interact with a galaxy of stars from the international relations universe. Also, it gives a platform for researchers to network and perhaps even collaborate. And finally, the event creates an ecosystem for the growth and development of think tanks and other policy groups.
Importance of Raisina Dialogue in the wake of the Ukraine crisis
- The Raisina Dialogue was attended by representatives from Europe, other Western countries as well as Russia which further portrays to the world the ability of India to bring together leaders during such times.
- The dialogue has provided the much-needed forum for India to explain and justify its stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the western world.
Path ahead for Raisina Dialogue
- With the world being more segmented than ever, it has to be seen if Raisina Dialogue continues to be a platform where different ideas can converge.
- In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, wherein India has a long-standing traditional relationship with Russia there exists a challenge for India to balance its ties with the West as well as Russia.
- In the current global order where there are various challenges to multilateralism such as the conflicts in Ukraine, the rise of China and its associated issues, it is to be seen how the Raisina Dialogue manages the changes in the multilateral order.
Areas that India needs to focus on
- India must focus on showcasing to the world how it is progressing without disturbing the global order in line with its idea of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.
- India must also express its idea of “what kind of a global order it would like to see” which includes a resilient and sustainable world where even the poorest of the poor countries can sustain themselves by having access to global public goods.
- India also must focus more on “narrative building”. As Raisina Dialogue happens only once a year, India must look for other ways to express its views to the world more vigorously and continuously throughout the year.
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