The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on 29 September 2020 organised a virtual discussion on the topic titled, “Iran: US Sanctions and Regional and International Perspectives”. Amb. D P Srivastava was the key speaker in the discussion. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF delivered his opening remarks and provided the broad context for the discussion.

The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) strives to ensure relevant geo-strategic discussions by different Expert Groups covering global as well as regional issues. In that vein, the groups hosted by VIF not only focused on foreign relations but prioritised discussions on the economic aspects. This issue consists of deliberations on U.S, Pakistan, India-Sri Lanka, India-Germany, and enhancing the regional value chain in South Asia.

The civil war in Syria similar to the continuing conflicts in Yemen and Libya has its roots in the 2011 Arab spring protests. The protracted conflict between President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces and a fragmented opposition has been diffused by Russia and Iran and the ruling regime has succeeded to reclaim majority of territories. The north-western governorate of Idlib is one of the last rebel-held regions and the Syrian government is pursuing its efforts to reclaim control since late 2016.

The Vivekananda International Foundation organised a virtual interactive session on the subject, “Developments in West Asia” on 13 July 2020. Dr Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF delivered his opening remarks and introduced the central topics, i.e. Geopolitics of Oil and Impact of COVID-19 on Regional Economies and Increasing Footprint of China in West Asia and implications for the Indo-Pacific. Dr. Jawad Alnani, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan; Prof. Jonathan Fulton, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi and Amb Anil Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, VIF participated in the discussion.