Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Interaction with UK, MOD Team on Global Strategic Trends and Implications

A British team from Development of Concepts and Doctrine Centre of UK Ministry of Defence led by Brig. Matt Holmes made a presentation on ‘Global Strategic Trends: Setting the Strategic Context for Defence and Security’ and interacted with the VIF faculty on 10th February, 2014. Brig. Holmes explained at length the strategic trends and their trajectory over a period of 20 to 25 years which was considered somewhat as a very long period by the VIF analysts especially where it may not be possible to extrapolate trends in a linear manner.

February 15, 2014 Event Report

Interaction with Prof Stephen Cohen

Prof Stephen Cohen, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution interacted with members of the strategic community at VIF on 8 January 2014. He spoke on likely scenarios that could unfold in Afghanistan post the withdrawal of US troops and their impact on the regional security environment. He also shared his perspectives on various aspects pertaining to civil-military relations in Pakistan and Indo-Pak relations.

January 13, 2014 Event Report

QUAD – PLUS Dialogue at Canberra

VIF in conjunction with the Heritage Foundation organized QUAD PLUS Dialogue on 8-10 December 2013 at Canberra, Australia. Following think-tanks participated in this event : - (a) Vivekananda International Foundation (b) Heritage Foundation, USA (c) Tokyo Foundation, Japan (d) Australian Strategic Policy Institute (e) Yuchengco Centre, De Salle University, Manila, Philippines (f) University of Sydney, Australia

January 13, 2014 Event Report

Interaction with the British High Commissioner to India

Vivekananda International Foundation hosted an interaction with the British High Commissioner to India, Sir James David Bevan KCMG, on 8th January 2014. The interaction was chaired by Vice Adm. (Retd) K. K. Nayyar and included retired senior officials, leading thinkers and strategists from the country’s diplomatic, intelligence and armed services.

January 13, 2014 Event Report

Release of India-US Partnership: Asian Challenges and Beyond

India-US Partnership: Asian Challenges and Beyond, a culmination of the joint study between the Vivekananda International Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, US, was released by Ambassador K S Bajpai, Former Indian Ambassador to the US, on 16th December 2013. The book has contributions by experts, including Ajit Doval KC, Ambassador Kanwal Sibal, Ambassador PP Shukla, Lisa Curtis, Jeff Smith, Walter Lohman, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Ravi Sawhney, Dean Cheng, Brig. (Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal, and Thubten Samphel.

December 24, 2013 Event Report

International Conference at RUSI, London on Afghanistan 2014 and Beyond

A trilateral conference on Afghanistan’s future between scholars from Royal United Services Institution, VIF experts and researchers from various Chinese think tanks was organized in London from 04 to 06 December 2013. The VIF delegation was led by its Director Mr. Ajit Doval and comprised of Gen. (Retd.) NC Vij, Amb. TCA Rangachari, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Ravi Sawhney and Brig. (Retd.) Vinod Anand. The Chinese delegation was led by Dr. Hu Shisheng, Director of Institute of South and Southeast Asian Studies which is part of China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

December 13, 2013 Event Report

Interaction with Mr Adam Thomson, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan

Vivekananda International Foundation welcomed Mr Adam Thomson, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan on 26th November 2013 for an interaction with leading security and foreign policy strategists of India. The team for interaction was headed by Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, former Indian Ambassador to Russia and the Joint Director of VIF, and included Vice Adm. (Retd) K K Nayyar, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Ravi Sawhney, Mr C D Sahay (former Secretary R, Cabinet Secretariat), Amb. Rajiv Sikri, Vice Adm. (Retd) Raman Puri, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Gautam Banerjee, Brig. (Retd) Vinod Anand, Mr.

November 27, 2013 Event Report

Interaction with Mr. Tom Dodd, Senior Policy Advisor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK

Mr. Tom Dodd, Head, ASEAN Department of Foreign and Commonwealth Office accompanied by Helen Fazey, Counsellor, ASEAN and Regional security Affairs at the British Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia had an interaction with the VIF Faculty on 12 November 2013. The discussions focussed on emerging environment in the Asia Pacific and responses of India and UK to the developments.

November 18, 2013 Event Report

India-US Partnership: Asian Challenges and Beyond by P.P. Shukla

About Book : India and the United States of America aim to form a strategic partnership of trust, cooperation and collaboration, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Indo-US relationship has had its share of ups and downs, but both admit to the necessity of greater understanding. The book covers economic and political aspects of the changes taking place in Asia, and provides a perspective different from the standard narrative, that of the inexorable rise of China to the top.

November 13, 2013 Books/Book Review

Interaction with Taiwanese Delegation

An interaction was held with a Taiwanese delegation from Prospects Foundation at the VIF on 6 November 2013. The five member Taiwanese delegation was led by Dr. Tzong-Ho Bau, Vice Chairman of the Foundation. Dr Frances Chung, Deputy Representative, Taiwan Economic and Cultural Centre, New Delhi was also present. Other members from Taiwan were Mr. Yang Ming Sun, Vice President Prospects Foundation, Dr. Edward I-Hsin Chen, Dr. Vincent Wen-Hsien Chen and Darren YH Chang.

November 08, 2013 Event Report