Afghanistan Beyond the London Conference

A two-day seminar was organized by the VIF on March 11-12, 2010 that turned a laser beam focus on various security, strategic and foreign policy aspects of Afghanistan after the London Conference. The seminar “Afghanistan Beyond the London Conference: India’s Options” was held over three sessions, two on March 11 and one on March 12.

The first session was on “The London Communiqué – Rationale and Road Ahead in Afghanistan”. It was chaired by Admiral (retired) K K Nayyar, while Ambassador K S Bajpai, French Ambassador Jerome Bonafont, Lt Gen (retired) V R Raghavan were the panelists. The second session was on “Pakistani Perceptions and Likely Strategies for Afghanistan”. Speakers in this session were Ambassador G Parthasarthy, Maj Gen (retired) Afsir Karim, and Ambassador K C Singh. Former RAW Chief A K Verma chaired this session. The third session “Indian Perceptions and Policy Options” had Brajesh Mishra, Naresh Chandra and M J Akbar as panelists while Ambassador Kanwal Sibal chaired the proceedings.

A large number of top serving and retired government officials attended the seminar. VIF Director Ajit Doval gave the welcome address on Day 1 and also proposed a vote of thanks at the end of the seminar.