Conference Report
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CONFERENCE REPORT DAY 1 The Health Central: India, SDGs, Vaccines & Global Expectations Oommen C Kurian Panellists S. Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs, India K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor, India In Conversation with - Mark Suzman, Chief Executive Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Covid-19 pandemic has affected lives and livelihoods in a fundamental way, and has perhaps changed for good, how diplomacy is conducted. “Never before has global health taken a central role in global affairs”, said Mark Suzman, Chief Executive Officer, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Fighting Covid-19 pandemic has seen an unprecedented global collaboration between researchers, healthcare workers, business leaders and grassroots organisations; and India has been at the forefront of this effort. “Vasudhaiva Kudumbakom” has been the guiding philosophy for India’s participation in the global pandemic response, as with its earlier interventions. Even before delivering vaccines during the pandemic India has been actively offering humanitarian assistance across the globe, “whether it was an earthquake in Nepal, or a civil war in Yemen, or a cyclone in Mozambique, or a typhoon in Fiji or a mudslide in Sri Lanka”, according to S. Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs, India. India finds itself increasingly at the center of the post-pandemic global debate on health, development and technology solutions. There are three critical components to its emerging engagement. First, India’s partnership in vaccinating the world against Covid-19, which is now temporarily disrupted by a destructive second wave. Second, India’s new role in proactively responding to health and development imperatives beyond its own people. Third, India’s role as an emerging solutions provider as technology and its application takes centre-stage in resolving development’s age old challenges. India’s international cooperation is not a one way street: the country is also immensely gaining from it. Scientific collaborations with the rest of the world have helped India turn itself into a vaccine giant, for example. Notably, India is facing the pandemic not just as a contract manufacturer of vaccines to the world, but one of the few vaccine developing countries. Covaxin, developed under a public private partnership between Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech International Ltd. (BBIL), is now approved for emergency use in 12 countries. Many other vaccines are in the pipeline. Equitable access of vaccines is key, since noone will be safe till everyone is safe. Equity and fairness are important, and people often question the virtues of globalisation citing the fact that the process has not been beneficial within and between societies. A ‘global fairness coalition’, forged between governments and other stakeholders should make sure that the weaker, vulnerable and less privileged people do not get left behind, going beyond immediate strategic interests. The enormous global interest now in health security will be the cornerstone of many such partnerships. “The reach of India’s interactions globally, points to a truly global view of a sense of community, and not just self interest”, said K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor, India. Bridging the digital and financial divides, sometimes termed as “bridgital” is something that India has become very good at. The 400-800 million story from the pandemic is telling; 400 million people in India got money delivered into their bank accounts directly from the government, without it getting lost on the way. Similarly, 800 million people got food from the government all through 2020. India has a lot to learn from the world, and a lot to offer. India will be an enlightened power in the post-pandemic world, which will not only organise its own rise, but will also facilitate the rise of others. DAY 1 Protecting the Rules-Based International Order: A conversation with NATO Secretary Genera Jens Stoltenberg Secretary General, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Samir Saran Curator, Raisina Dialogue; President, Observer Research Foundation Sangeet Jain The wide-ranging conversation between Dr Samir Saran, President of Observer Research Foundation and Jens Stoltenberg, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General, was preceded by an address delivered by the latter. The address sought to convey NATO’s evolving perspective of the challenges that face the alliance today, and its desire to engage more deeply with like-minded democracies across the world. The 30-member NATO alliance represents 1 billion people i.e. half of the world’s economic and military might. The Secretary-General highlighted that NATO’s primary endeavour today is to adapt to an increasingly unpredictable world which is throwing up security challenges that are more global and complex in nature, including cyber warfare, disruptive technology, climate change, nuclear proliferation, disinformation, and mounting authoritarianism. The conversation between Dr Saran and the Secretary-General began with a discussion concerning the current outlook of the alliance and its near-term ambitions. The Secretary-General applauded the clear and strong message from the Biden administration in this regard, seeking to reinvigorate the alliance. The renewed commitment by the U.S., coupled with the upcoming launch of “NATO 2030”—a project launched to build a future-proof NATO—is expected to launch a new chapter in NATO’s trajectory. NATO 2030 shall seek to broaden the security agenda and cover resilience, critical infrastructure, climate change, and investment in emerging technology and modern capabilities. It shall also seek to strengthen consultation within the alliance and outreach around the globe. Significantly, the Secretary-General alluded to China’s rise as a defining global issue, with serious implications for NATO. He stressed that NATO does not regard China as an adversary and recognises that China’s rise comes with great opportunities—it has lifted millions out of poverty and is a key trade and investment partner for many NATO countries. China’s position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and potential to shortly become the largest economy in the world, shall enable it to contribute to combating many issues of our time—for example, in negotiating arms control arrangements, and bringing peace and security to Afghanistan. However, NATO is also clear-headed about the challenges posed by China’s rise. China has tripled its military expenditure over the past decade and has invested heavily in military modernisation, but this growing military might has been accompanied by an increasingly assertive posture on the global stage. China does not share NATO’s values and is seeking to challenge the rules-based international order by coercing its neighbours in the region, openly threatening Taiwan, and hampering freedom of navigation (FON) in the South China Sea. Its investment in critical infrastructure and strategic resources across the world is aimed at creating dependencies. NATO, therefore, believes that it could be a key platform to forge convergence on responding to the security implications of China’s rise. The Secretary-General emphasised that NATO’s increasingly global outlook is entirely consistent with its mandate as a regional alliance for Europe and North America. He also stressed that NATO must not be seen primarily as a military alliance, its main tools are political dialogue and capacitybuilding, and it has already fostered partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan in the Indo-Pacific region. In growing recognition of the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific, several NATO allies such as France, US, the Netherlands, and the UK have developed and strengthened their strategies in the Indo- Pacific and Germany also has plans to send some naval forces to the region. The conversation concluded with a few crucial takeaways for the India-NATO relationship. Dr Saran pointed to the relationship’s lack of momentum, with a Track II dialogue being proposed years ago but never acted upon. The Secretary General responded with enthusiasm about the future prospects of the relationship, and quipped that his attendance at the Raisina Dialogue for the first time is testament to NATO’s growing interest in a serious engagement with India. He recognised India as being a pivotal player in the Indo-Pacific region and a vital upholder of the global rules-based order, at the forefront of many of NATO’s shared security challenges such as maritime security, terrorism and Afghanistan. The conversation concluded with an expression of NATO’s commitment to elevate consultation, coordination, and concerted action with India, and strengthen the engagement. DAY 1 Message from Zbigniew Rau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland Excellencies and distinguished guests, thank you for inviting me to take part in this important panel. Let me start with the words of Jean Monnet, one of the European Union’s founders, “Europe will be forged in crises” and will be with some of the solutions adopted for those crises. The pandemic clearly shows the need for EU leadership and cooperation. A truly effective global response to Covid will be possible only through multilateral institutions. But, the EU needs partners to strengthen the international values and rules based order, and to bring new life to global economic governance. We want to unlock the potential of EU-Asia cooperation including, naturally, India as