TEPAV attended the 9th Raisina Dialogue, held from February 21 to February 23, 2024, in New Delhi, India 9th Raisina Dialogue, held from February 21 to February 23, 2024, in New Delhi, India, with over 2500 participants from about 115 countries, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
TEPAV attended the 9th Raisina Dialogue, held from February 21 to February 23, 2024, in New Delhi, India, with over 2500 participants from about 115 countries, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
The annual event is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics bringing together leaders in politics, business, media, think tanks, and civil society to discuss the global agenda each year.
This year's conference theme was 'Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create,' underpinned by global uncertainty, complexity, and ongoing changes against a backdrop of conflicts in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a polarized world, and China's growing influence. Additionally, the technology revolution, democratization of AI, and emerging sectors from electronics to new energy, alongside India's G20 2023 presidency and the Global South's drive to reform the global system and achieve the green transition, were highlighted. Discussions were held over six thematic pillars: (i) Tech Frontiers: Regulations & Realities; (ii) Peace with the Planet: Invest & Innovate; (iii) War & Peace: Armouries & Asymmetries; (iv) Decolonising Multilateralism: Institutions & Inclusion; (v) The Post 2030 Agenda: People & Progress; and (vi) Defending Democracy: Society & Sovereignty.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, as well as key Indian officials including Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, emphasized India's growing responsibility in the Global South, its ambitions to become a developed country, and new policies to propel India into the future driven by technology and innovation.
Among the attendees were Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece; ministers of foreign affairs from European states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Slovakia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Romania); and top-level EU politicians from Ukraine, Serbia, Germany, France, Italy, Iceland, and the UK. European think tankers and academics were also prominent. The EU side discussion centered around both the Russian-Ukraine conflict and China's economic clout, and its unbalanced power in trade, including its rising competitiveness against the German automotive industry.
President of the World Economic Forum, Børge Brende, on the other hand, emphasized the risks of going too far with de-risking from China and underscored the need for trade and investment recovery to stimulate growth. Foreign Ministers of Sweden and Denmark also emphasized the importance of trade openness, while discussions also highlighted the need to avoid excessive dependence on any single country, pointing to dependencies on both Russia and China.
Former Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga raised concerns over the West's reluctance towards trade while highlighting China's confidence in signing trade agreements in Latin America. He noted, "Our hearts are with Europe and the United States, but our pocketbooks are with China."
Other speaker from Latin America included Panama's Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney and Brazil's former Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota; and from Africa, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal, Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation January Yusuf Makamba, attended. Think tankers and top-level officials and ministers from Asia, including Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, and Bhutan, and from the Gulf including the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia were present.
The closing session on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, emphasizing countering China's rise in the region, included opening remarks from the Vice President of Global Pursuits at Lockheed Martin, as well as speakers including the navy chiefs of India, France, and the United Kingdom, and the air force chief of Australia.
