Sh S Gurumurthy Ji,
Distinguished panellists and moderators
Distinguished participants
Ladies and gentlemen

I extend a warm welcome to you all to the 3-day International Strategic Engagement Programme (IN-STEP) being organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation in collaboration with the National Defence College and the National Security Council Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs. The first edition of the programme was held at the VIF in March 2024. On that occasion, 37 delegates from 22 countries participated. This time 43 candidates from 27 countries are participating. We are pleased at the growing popularity of this course. I thank the NDC, the MEA and the NSCS for their confidence in the VIF for organising this prestigious programme.

I am grateful to Sh Gurumurthy Ji, Chairman of the VIF for his presence. He will give the inaugural address on ‘India’s Civilisational Ethos and Its Strategic Approach’. I also thank the panelists and moderators for their participation.

The programme will run in 6 sessions covering India’s strategic approach, world in turmoil, climate change and energy transition, geopolitics of disruptive technology, global economic order, India’s growth story and India’s foreign policy in a multipolar world order. The developments will be analysed from India's standpoint. At the end of the programme, we hope that the participants will get a good view of how India is engaging with the world in these turbulent times.

Before we start, a word about the Vivekananda International Foundation. VIF is an independent, non-partisan institution. We are guided by the values advocated by Swami Vivekananda whose landmark speech at the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, i.e. 131 years ago, reverberates to this day. He was a Hindu spiritual leader steeped in the values of tolerance and universal acceptance. In his first speech at Chicago, he cautioned against the demons of “sectarianism, bigotry and … fanaticism”, pointing out that these ills had “filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilizations and sent whole nations to despair”. Was he not speaking about today’s world? You would recognize the contemporary relevance of the word uttered then.

As a platform for dialogue and conflict resolution, the VIF strives to bring together a community of best minds in India to ideate on key national and international issues; promote initiatives that further the cause of peace and global harmony; monitor social, economic and political trends that have a bearing on India’s unity and integrity; analyze the causes for social and ethnic conflicts leading to extremism and offer policy alternatives; interact with civil society and offer institutional support for exchange of ideas and interaction among conflicting groups; critique public policy and the working of democratic institutions and constitutional bodies; and evolve benchmarks for good governance and efficiency in public institutions.

Friends,

How troubled is the world today comes out starkly in the Summit of the Future Outcome Document adopted by the world leaders at the UNGA a few days ago. In the Pact for the Future declaration adopted by the UNGA, there is a frank admission that the wrong choices made in the past have led to the “rising catastrophic and existential risks” confronting the world today. There is an urgency that “if we do not change course, we risk tipping into a future of persistent crises and breakdown”. The leaders pledged to make a new beginning in multilateralism, redress injustice, reduce inequalities, and reinvigorate global action to respond to current and future challenges, including, diverse “threats to international peace and security, on land, at sea, in the air, in outer space and in cyberspace”.

One of the most important promises made by the Leaders was to reform the Security Council, make it “more representative inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic, accountable”, improve the representation of Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean in the Council while ensuring a “balance between its representativeness and effectiveness”. They agreed to make efforts to reach an agreement on the vital issue of veto, its scope and use.

The danger of the possible use of a nuclear weapon has increased. The Leaders reiterated of their commitment to achieve the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. The immediate goal has been specified as the “elimination of the danger of the nuclear war, and avoiding an arms race”.

Today’s world is dominated by the rise of technology. Science and Technology benefits people but also comes with serious risks. This is particularly true about AI. The challenge is to ensure that while the benefits of science and technology are not denied to anyone, at the same time, technologies should be used in a responsible and ethical manner. There is considerable debate on the issue of regulating AI. While these debates continue, terrorists, non-state actors backed by States, and criminal syndicates are using disruptive technologies, global communications platforms and cryptocurrencies to pose a serious threat to sovereign nations and national and international security. Global cooperation is needed to tackle these challenges.

Climate change, extreme weather events, and natural disasters are universally recognised as threats to peace and security. Unfortunately, the Paris Accord on Climate Change has not delivered on the promises made. The Western world focuses on mitigation while ignoring the needs of the developing world for ‘adaptation’. Energy transition to the so-called clean technologies is likely to be onerous and disruptive for most countries that have neither the technology nor the finance to deal with the challenge of climate change. Regrettably, there are deep divisions among countries on these issues. These surface from time to time in every COP discussion. The next COP will be in Baku. The repeated recourse to “pledges” by disparate groups of parties outside the UNFCC framework is detrimental to multilateralism.

Ambitious reforms fail because they are not backed by adequate resources. The International Financial Architecture is the need of major reforms. Developing countries are experiencing the flight of capital. The indebtedness in the world is growing. Several countries, including in India’s immediate neighbourhood, are experiencing great financial stress. Multilateral development banks need to mobilise far greater levels of financing for the 2030 Agenda. They need to raise more resources and concessional finance, including in local currencies, for developing countries that are groaning under rising debts.

Terrorism continues to remain a potent threat to national and international security. Several regions of the world, particularly North Africa and West Asia, are the hotspots of international terrorism. India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for decades. Unfortunately, international cooperation to deal with terrorism has been highly inadequate. The rise of new technologies has made the situation even more complex. Until and unless there is a consensus on what is terrorism and who is a terrorist, international cooperation cannot be effective. The current wars in the Middle East are likely to trigger a new wave of terrorism in future.

India’s Approach

In his remarks at the UN Summit of the Future, on 23 Sep 2024, PM Modi stated that “success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not in the battle field”. Human centric approach focussing on human welfare, food and health security is necessary for a better global future. Reforms in global institutions are essential if they have to remain relevant. India is committed to “One earth, One family, One future”. India is ready share its digital public infrastructure with the entire world, he announced.

A few days later, EAM Sh Jaishankar delivered India’s national statement at the 79th UNGA on the theme “leaving no one behind”. Reflecting on the state of the world, he observed that SDG targets are receding, the Ukraine war is continuing while the Gaza conflict is acquiring wider ramification. The developed countries are evading their responsibilities towards climate action. The UN is paralysed.

India was responding to this situation in a variety of ways. It was focussing on the issues of the vulnerable; expanding opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship; offering a digital public infrastructure and a people’s pharmacy model to other countries, encouraging the Global South to voice its shared concerns and come together and contributing to the well-being of the global commons.

Indian economy, presently a shade less than USD 4 trillion, is likely to become the 3rd largest economy in a few years. This factor alone has given a new strength to India’s foreign policy. At the G-20 meeting in New Delhi in 2023, India bolstered the voice of the ‘Global South’. India is today one of the few countries which has deep engagement with all sides of the international divide including the major powers and developing countries. On key issues international issues of development and security, India has made constructive suggestions. Prime Minister Modi, by emphasising that this should not be an ‘era of war’ and that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, has given voice to the feelings of most countries in the world who wish to focus on development in a peaceful environment. He has projected India as a Viswabandhu a ‘friend for all’. Today India has the capability and capacity to make some difference to the world. India believes in peace and harmony and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Dear friends,

Our panelists are renowned in their respective fields and highly experienced. Please feel free to interact and ask questions. We will also share with you VIF’s recent publications. You may ask for any book that you wish to have from our staff. These are on display in the lobby.

I now request Sh Gurumurthy ji to address the participants.