The VIF hosted an internal discussion on ‘Afghanistan: Emerging Realignment’ on 04 May 2017. The purpose was to consider Afghanistan’s dwindling security environment and imperatives for India to hedge its bets against a resurgent Taliban waiting to take over the reins of power in Kabul while the new US administration is yet to firm up its future Afghanistan strategy.
Amb Tariq Karim, Bangladesh’s former High Commissioner to India and a Distinguished Fellow at the VIF, delivered a talk on some of the recent developments in Bangladesh on. He broadly dwelt upon the Islamic State (IS) factor in Bangladesh, the upcoming elections and the trajectory of Indo-Bangladesh relations should there be a change in government of Bangladesh. The Talk was followed by an interactive session. Amb Satish Chandra, Lt Gen Ravi Sawhney and Amb Veena Sikri, among others, interacted with the speaker.
A seven-member delegation of Bangladesh Jatiyo Party, led by Mr Ziauddin Ahmed (Bablu), Member of Parliament and former advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visited the VIF.
A Round Table Meet on ‘Developing Counter Narrative to Radicalization: Bangladesh Experience’ was held at Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi, on the 11th of November, 2016. Visiting expert from Bangladesh, Lt. Col. (Retd.), Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir, recipient of Swadinata Padak, Bangladesh’s highest civilian award and author of several books, was the key speaker.
Ahead of Nepalese President Ms Bidya Devi Bhandari’s scheduled visit to India later this month, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) hosted H.E. Mr. Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Nepal’s Ambassador to India, for an interaction on ‘India-Nepal Relations: The Way forward’ on 07 April 2017.
A ten-member multi-party delegation of Myanmar’s parliamentarians, led by Mr. Oo Hla Sae (Member of Parliament, Arakan National party), called on the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) faculty on 20 February 2017. The ensuing interaction focused on India’s federal system of governance, with members of the delegation evincing their interest in gauging out how the system works so well for India despite her geographical vastness and multiple diversity.
Mr. Tilak Devasher, former civil servant, author and columnist, shared key findings of his outstanding research, titled ‘Pakistan: Courting the Abyss’ in a panel discussion, held at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on 27 January 2017. With Amb Satish Chandra and Mr.
On 08 February 2017, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), for a second time since its inception in December 2009, had the honour and privilege of hosting the Nobel Peace Laureate, His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people.
The ‘Trincomalee Consultation 2017’, a Track 1.5 dialogue, was organized by the Pathfinder Foundation (Sri Lanka) in collaboration with Carnegie India to discuss the development of Trincomalee port as regional hub for the Bay of Bengal. The Consultation was held in Colombo from 16 – 17 Feb 17 with support from the Japanese and Norwegian Embassies in Colombo. A team from Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) comprising Commodore Gopal Suri and Ms Anushree Ghisad attended the dialogue.
A high –powered delegation from Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) led by its President, Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, visited the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on the 1st of February 2017. The delegation included Amb. M. Humayun Kabir, Vice President, BEI, Major General A.K.M. Abdur Rahman, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies BIISS, Mr. Faiz Sobhan, Brig. General Ziaul Ahsan from the National Security Intelligence (NSI), Brig. General Mohd. Adil Choudhary, Director Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and Mr.