VIF held a discussion with domain experts on the above theme.
VIF held a discussion with domain experts on the above theme.
On 3rd August 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) jointly organised a discussion on “BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity”. The speakers were from India and Nepal. The discussion session was chaired by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF and the speakers were Dr Sreeradha Datta, Head of Neighbourhood Studies Center, VIF, Dr. Pritam Banerjee, Logistics Sector Specialist Consultant, Asian Development Bank, Dr Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director, NIICE, Mihir Bhonsale, Policy Analyst and Prof.
The most significant claim made by the enthusiasts of democratic peace theory like Francis Fukuyama and Michael Doyle is that democratic countries avoid going to war with each other as they tend to solve disputes peacefully via mutual negotiations. Fukuyama went a step ahead by making an assertion in his book The End of History and the Last Man (1992) that the end of the Cold War marked the triumph of liberal capitalism over all other antithetical ideologies.
Disregarding the historical facts & evidences, and primarily the ongoing bilateral talks relating to Kalapani issue, K.P. Sharma Oli led Nepal government released a new emblem of Nepal after second amendment of the Constitution of Nepal on 13 June 2020. Earlier, on 20 May 2020, on recommendation of the Council of Ministers of Nepal, the lower house of Nepal’s Parliament approved a new map of Nepal which showed Kalapani and Lipulekh as part of Nepalese territories. These territories have been claimed by India as its own.
The Russian “special military operation” launched against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has impacted countries worldwide. While the global powers are busy in either extending support or condemning Russia in their respective ways, the fundamental issues arise from the political and economic impact of the crisis on the world economy. So far, the most visible impact of the Ukraine crisis globally has been the price rise in petroleum products. Also, the global sanctions on Russia have further interrupted the supply chain of goods from one region to another.
The existing literature on Indian foreign policy making process has largely focussed on the formal bureaucratic structures that are responsible for policy making. The contribution of non-state actors to policy making in India hasn’t attracted much attention from scholars working on Indian foreign policy. As decision making in the arena of foreign policy and security has followed a top-down approach in India, a detailed examination of the role of think tanks in influencing the policymaking process hasn’t been undertaken so far.
On the 21st of June, 2022, the Vivekananda International Foundation organized a talk on ‘Bangladesh-India Relations and the New Horizons of Possibilities’. Ambassador Shahidul Haque, former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, delivered the talk that was followed by round of discussions. Through touching upon Bangladesh’s geostrategic location and its geopolitical interactions in both a local and regional context, Ambassador Haque outlined the challenges and avenues of cooperation between the country and India.
On the 13th of June, 2022, The Vivekananda International Foundation organised a round table discussion on 'India's Economic Engagement within its Neighbourhood'. The session began with Dr Arvind Gupta's brief remarks on the nature and extent of India's economic relations with its neighbours. This was followed by a series of comments by Ambassador Ashok K Kantha, Ambassador Ranjit Rae, Ambassador Pinak Chakravarty, Mr Pratim Ranjan Bose, Mr Anil Manocha and Mr MJ Sheikh.
The Vivekananda International Foundation organized a talk on Economic Situation in Sri Lanka on 18 May 2022. The talk was chaired by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, Vivekananda International Foundation
By Khusmita Dhabhi & Rishi Gupta The Vivekananda International Foundation organised a talk by H.E. Dr. Shankar P. Sharma, Ambassador of Nepal on "Nepal-India Relations" on 1st June 2022 at 1100. The session was chaired by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, and moderated by Brig. Vinod Anand. In his welcome remarks, Dr. Gupta said that in the past seven decades, the bilateral ties between the two countries have deepened manifold. His remarks were seconded by H.E. Amb Shankar Sharma.