India and Iran share close historical and cultural links dating back to ancient times. In contemporary times, this relationship is multi-faceted and includes cooperation in political, trade-economic, security and multiple other sectors. In order to assess the dynamics of India-Iran relations, the

The United Kingdom released its “Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy” on 16 March 2021. Titled ‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’, the document stands out for shaping the country’s post-Brexit foreign, defence, security and development priorities and policies. A notable aspect of the review is the UK’s foreign and security policy ‘tilt’ towards the Indo-Pacific region. China, India and Japan are recognised as the three most important powers in this region with widely differing characteristics and relationships with the UK. The UK seeks to “deepen” engagement in the Indo-Pacific with an ambitious goal of being the European partner “with the broadest and most integrated presence” in the region.

On 07 April 2021, Pathfinder Foundation ([PF) and Vivekananda International Foundation organised a webinar on ‘Connectivity between India and Sri Lanka’. Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, welcomed the participants and delivered the opening remarks. The webinar included brief presentations by Professor Rohan Samarajiva, Mr Bipul Chaterjee, Mr Sanjay Chadha, and Dr Ravi Rathnayake, followed by remarks from Mr Abdul Azeez, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka. The webinar is part of a series of webinars to understand the prospects of connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. Mr Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, PF, also welcomed the participants and gave introductory remarks.

A delegation from VIF led by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director and comprising of Lt Gen (Retd) Ravi Sawhney, Amb (Retd) Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Dr Sreeradha Datta and Col Jaideep Chanda visited Myanmar from 9 – 12 December 2019.