Raisina Dialogue: India to host seventh annual geopolitics conference

Three-day event in New Delhi will address issues such as democracy and technology wars

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the seventh annual Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi on April 25, 2022. PIB / AFP

India will hold the seventh annual geopolitics and geoeconomics conference, Raisina Dialogue, in New Delhi from tomorrow. This will bring together policymakers, diplomats, experts and former leaders for three days of discussions as the world grapples with the political, humanitarian and economic fallout of the war in Ukraine.

This year's conference is titled 'Terra Nova: Impassioned, Impatient, and Imperilled' and will address six major themes: democracy, multilateralism, health, technology wars, renewable energy and the Asia-Pacific region, Foreign Ministry spokesman, Arindam Bagchi, said.

The annual conference is organised jointly by India’s foreign ministry and the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank in New Delhi. It is named after the Raisina Hills area of the capital where the Indian government's main institutions are based.

This year’s event is taking place in person after being held online for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be more than 100 sessions, with 200 speakers from 90 countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the gathering, while European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, will be the chief guest and is scheduled to speak at the inaugural session.

Ms Von der Leyen is expected to highlight the importance of a partnership between the South Asian nation and the European Union amid the continuing crisis in Ukraine.

The President of the UN General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, will also address the opening session in a pre-recorded message.

“There will be side events hosted in Berlin and Washington and the Raisina Young Fellows Programme will also be conducted on the sidelines of this main conference,” Mr Bagchi said.

The former prime ministers of Sweden, Canada and Australia — Carl Bildt, Stephen Harper and Anthony Abbott — are among those attending the event.

The foreign ministers of Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Guyana, Nigeria, Norway, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia will also participate and hold bilateral talks with their Indian counterparts.

India under Mr Modi has vigorously asserted itself on the global stage and the high-profile conference sets New Delhi’s agenda on global politics, security and economic upheavals.

In recent weeks, India has underlined its strategic autonomy by refusing to condemn explicitly Russia's war on Ukraine. The invasion has sparked global condemnation and wide-ranging sanctions against Moscow.

India has abstained from voting on US-backed resolutions which censure Russia at the UN, sparking dismay from its western allies but also attempts to lure away New Delhi from its Cold War-era partnership with Moscow, its largest arms supplier.

A string of western diplomats have visited New Delhi in recent weeks to persuade India to take a tough stand against Russia amid promises of increased defence, trade, and energy cooperation to tackle regional rival China.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a vocal critic of Russia's actions, on Friday announced a "new and expanded" defence and security partnership with India during a visit to New Delhi.