On 9th April 2018, The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) held a round table discussion on India’s security concerns in the Indo-Pacific. The panelists were Ambassador Rajiv Sikri, Ambassador Kanwal Sibal and Captain Gurpreet Khurana.
On 2nd April, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) hosted twelve senior journalists and editors from China. These were senior editors and correspondents from reputed Chinese media outlets like the CCTV, Caixin, Global Times and The Observer. The participants were:- Ms. Zhang Xin, Director, International News Section GLOBAL TIMES; Ms. Song Shengxia, Chief Editor of English Edition, GLOBAL TIMES; Ms. Sun Wei, Editor & Senior Correspondent CCTV; Mr. Xu Heqian, Director International Desk CAIXIN;
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) hosted a distinguished delegation from India-Japan Friendship Exchange Council (FEC) from Tokyo during their 11th visit to India. The delegation was led by Mr Kenichi Watanabe, Vice Chairman of FEC, Senior Advisor to the Board and Former Group CEO of Nomura Holdings, Inc. The interaction explored various facets of current global, regional and bilateral dynamics between India and Japan. Some of the salient points discussed are described below. Possible Japan-China Detente
A four-member team from the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) comprising Director, Dr. Arvind Gupta, Lt. Gen. Ravi Sawhney, Ambassador Anil Wadhwa and Dr. Harinder Sekhon participated in the Quad Plus Dialogue in Tokyo from March 4 to 6, 2018. This was the fifth in this series of track-two ‘Quad’ dialogues. This Dialogue was held in the backdrop of the November 2017 Track one dialogue when officials from the four countries met on the margins of the ASEAN meetings in Manila.
On Mar 10th, 2018, Members of the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) faculty had an interactive session with Dr James M. Dorsey, Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), discussing together major conflicts in West Asia/Middle East and exploring the way forward.
On March 16th, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) hosted the Singapore based Dr. Ananth Nageshwaran, a Distinguished Fellow at VIF. Dr. Nageshwaran gave a presentation on the current situation of the Chinese economy. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, presided over the participative meeting. Dr. Gupta began the meeting by mentioning that it is really important to understand the direction of the economy and its vulnerabilities.
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a brain storming session on the topic of ‘Imbalance in Sino-Indian Trade: What to do about it?’ Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, delivered the opening remarks. The session was attended by the members of the strategic community, eminent diplomats, members of strategic community and policy-makers dealing with China. Among the attendees were; Sanjay Chadha (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce), Hemant Kotwani (National Security Council Secretariat, NSCS), Amb. Skand Tayal, Amb. Ashok Kantha, Mr. V Sheshadri, Dr. Suresh Goel, Amb.
Report and Recommendations
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized an interaction with Prof Syyed Mohd Kazem Sajjadpour, President of the Iranian Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), on 16 January 2018. He was accompanied by a senior-level delegation which included Amb Gholamreza Ansari (Ambassador of Iran to India) and Prof Sheikh-ul-Islam (Dean of School of International Studies, Tehran). From the VIF, discussions were led by the Director, Dr. Arvind Gupta. Amb Kanwal Sibal, Amb Rajeev Sikri, Shri C. D. Sahay, Amb Prabhat Shukla also took part in the discussion.
... US-China relations are being shaped by the assertive policies of Xi Jinping ... and the Trump administration’s view that the large trade deficit and security challenges in East Asia require a more proactive policy towards China .... being the two largest economies in the world as well as the two biggest military spenders, the growing conflicting interest could have destabilising effects ...