Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Understanding Politics in Iraq post-October 2021 Elections

Hirak Jyoti Das, Senior Research Associate, VIF

Iraq’s post-2003 political system is facing political and economic dysfunction mired by widespread corruption, economic inequalities and lack of improvement in living standards. The unstable political situation is further accentuated by the influence and control of external actors, i.e. Iran and the US. Intense turmoil and political stalemate stemming from political competition and rivalries among the key stakeholders delayed government formation and appointment of new President, Prime Minister and cabinet for almost a year since the last election on 10 October 2021.

January 25, 2023 Paper

West Asia Experts Group Meeting

The West Asia Experts Group Meeting was held on 8 July 2022 by the Vivekananda International Foundation, the discussion was focused on "The Geopolitical Impact of the War in Ukraine on the Middle East". The key speaker for the session was Giorgio Francesco Cafiero, CEO, Gulf State Analytics. The members attending and contributing were Amb. Anil Trigunayat (Coordinator); Amb. D P Srivastava; Dr. Meena Singh Roy; Prof. SujitDutta; Prof. Kingshuk Chatterjee; Vice Admiral Satish Soni; Lt. Gen. Ravi Sawhney and Director, VIF, Dr. Arvind Gupta.

August 02, 2022 Event Report

Interaction with Mr. Dammu Ravi on ‘Prospects of I2U2 Summit’

The Vivekananda International Foundation organised a discussion on "Prospects for I2U2 summit" on 25 July 2022. The key speaker in the discussion was Mr. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs. The members attending and contributing were Amb. Anil Trigunayat; Amb.D P Srivastava; Amb. Satish Chandra; Amb. Anil Wadhwa; Amb. Prabhat Shukla, Vice Admiral Satish Soni; Dr. Meena Singh Roy; Prof. Sujit Dutta; Brig. Vinod Anand; Lt. Gen. Ravi Sawhney and Director, VIF, Dr. Arvind Gupta.

August 02, 2022 Event Report

Evolving Security Dynamic in West Asia and India’s Challenges

Amb Anil Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, VIF

West Asia continues to churn festered by several hot spots including Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq as Arab Spring 2.0 straddles the region forcing socio-economic reforms. The Middle East Process remains defunct as the Israel-Palestine conflict remains at the brink. The region also continues to suffer from the geopolitical, geo-economic, and geo-religious contestations among major powers like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, and Iran. Qatar has emerged as new `Go To` country.

June 15, 2022 Books/Book Review

Evolving security dynamic in West Asia and India’s challenges

Huma Siddiqui

As the controversy over the disrespect to Islam and the Holy Prophet by some errant individuals of the Indian ruling party raged across West Asia , I was happy to see the book edited by veteran diplomat and West Asia expert Ambassador Anil Trigunayat underscoring the critical importance of the WANA region for India and the world . Amb Trigunayat has spent nearly two thirds of his diplomatic career dealing with the Middle East and Africa and is currently leading the West Asia Experts Group at the Vivekananda International Foundation.

June 11, 2022 Books/Book Review

West Asia Experts Group Meeting

The West Asia Experts Group Meeting was virtually held on 4 August 2021 by the Vivekananda International Foundation, the discussion was focussed on India-Turkey Relations; Turkey’s Foreign Policy and its Regional role. The key speakers in the session were the Indian Ambassador to Turkey, Amb. Sanjay Panda and Abhinav Pandya, CEO, USANAS Foundation; members attending and contributing were Amb. Anil Trigunayat (Coordinator); Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF; Lt. Gen. Ravi Sawhney; Lt. Gen. Ata Hasnain; Amb. Satish Chandra; Amb. Anil Wadhwa; Amb. Sanjay Singh and Prof. Kingshuk Chatterjee.

August 06, 2021 Event Report

Iran: US Sanctions and Regional and International Perspectives

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.

October 07, 2020 Event Report

Developments in West Asia

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.

July 18, 2020 Event Report

VIF Presentation cum discussions on West Asia

The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised two sets of interactive discussions on the impact of COVID-19 in West Asia and its implications on India. On 7 May 2020, Amb. D P Srivastava Distinguished Fellow, VIF spoke on the topic, “Geopolitics and Return of Indian workers from the Gulf”. On 12 May 2020 Amb. Anil Trigunayat Distinguished Fellow, VIF spoke on the subject, “Developments in West Asia and impact on India”. Dr.

May 18, 2020 Event Report

Brainstorming Session on ‘India and West Asia – a New Paradigm Shift and Policy Options’

The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a Brainstorming Session on ‘India and West Asia – a New Paradigm Shift and Policy Options’. The deliberations broadly focussed on assessing the present situation in the West Asian Region especially after a spike in US-Iran tensions. Discussions were held on the impact on India in terms of energy security, Indian diaspora and security and policy options for India.

July 30, 2019 Event Report