A 17 member Swedish delegation led by Mr Henrik Haggstorm from the Swedish Armed Forces HQ interacted with the VIF faculty on 03 April 2014 on the regional and international security scenario. The Swedish delegation included Swedish Defence Attaches in Beijing, Washington, Seoul, Canberra Bangkok, and Islamabad among others. Officials from the Swedish Foreign Affairs ministry also formed part of the group. The delegation was keen to learn about India’s perspective on strategic and security environment in the region in general and about terrorism in particular.

In his interaction with the VIF faculty on March 26, Ambassador of France to India H E Francois Richier began by identifying the similarities between India and France – above all, the commitment to maintaining strategic autonomy. This did not mean isolation, for no nation could afford to function entirely on its own in this day and age. But it did mean that where their vital interests were involved, they would act with or without external support.

Vivekananda International Foundation hosted an interaction with His Excellency Mr. João Cravinho, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to India on 13 March 2014, under its ongoing series of interactions with Ambassadors based in India. The closed-door interaction was chaired by Ambassador P P Shukla, Joint Director VIF, and included veteran Indian diplomats and former chiefs of Armed Services and Intelligence agencies of the country as participants.

Scholars and strategic analysts from VIF, RUSI U.K., China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, China Institute for International Studies, China Academy of Social Sciences and other Chinese think tanks and Afghan experts came together for a two day workshop at Doha, Qatar from 26 to 27 February 2014 to deliberate on likely post- 2014 Afghanistan environment and measures that should be taken to work towards peace, stability and prosperity.