Monthly Compilation of Views of VIF Expert Groups: August 2022

In the month of August 2022 Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized a total of seven expert group, think tank, round table and eminent person interactions with most of them being hybrid but with increasing in person attendance. The month saw the commencement of a new expert group on Geo-Economics in which the first discussions was on India and the neighbourhood.

Since ancient times, India and Iran have had significant historical and cultural ties. In modern times, this relationship is multifaceted, encompassing cooperation in political, trade-economic, security, and a range of other arenas. Iran is also important for India’s connectivity to Eurasia. Given Afghanistan’s dramatically shifting geopolitical environment and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, increased cooperation between India and Iran as regional stakeholders is critical. In order to assess the dynamics of India-Iran relations, the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) Iran, in collaboration with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), organized a webinar on Bilateral, Regional, and International Issues. The main topics discussed in this webinar included developments in Afghanistan, India-Iran cooperation in connectivity initiatives, and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Indo-Iranian relations.