DIALOGUE Conference Booklet 2016 March 1-3 MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Government of India DIALOGUE 2016 Published by Observer Research Foundation 2016. © All Rights Reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, altered, printed, copied or transmited in any form—physical or digital—without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Design Director: Anil Ahuja (www.texpex.com) Designer: Puja Ahuja ([email protected]) Typeset: Tanay Jain Printed by: Vinset Advertising Contents Message by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, India 3 Message by S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary, Government of India 5 Message by Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation 7 Agenda 10 Speakers 18 Participants 54 Orientation 68 The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference This two-day annual conference is structured as a engaging with geopolitics and geo-economics. It is multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral conclave involving designed to explore and examine the prospects and policy and decision makers, including cabinet ministers opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s from various governments, high-level government offi- integration with the larger world. It is predicated on In- cials and policy practitioners, leading personalities from dia’s vital role in the Indian Ocean Region and how India business and industry, and members of the strategic along with its partners in the region and beyond can community, media and academia. build a stable and prosperous world order. The inaugural dialogue will be hosted between March The 2016 conclave will focus on Asia’s physical, eco- 1st and 3rd this year in New Delhi and will witness nomic, human and digital connectivity and will attempt participation of more than 100 speakers from over 35 to discover opportunities and challenges for the region countries. to manage its common spaces, as well as the global partnerships needed to develop common pathways in this century. ORGANISING PARTNERS MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Government of India 20 Rouse Avenue, New Delhi-110002 Ph: +91-11-43520020. Fax: +91-11-43520021 www.orfonline.org [email protected] Message I convey my best wishes on the inaugural round of the Raisina Dialogue. Many important leaders and strategic thinkers from over 40 countries are visiting India for this Dialogue. I Iwould like to welcome them on behalf of the Government and the people of India. The Raisina Dialogue is a joint initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation. Our objective is to create a forum in India where noted diplomatic thinkers and experienced practitioners can meet every year to discuss the pressing issues of the day. As globalisation binds the Indian society and economy ever more tightly to its external environment, our growth and progress will depend critically on what happens in other parts of the world. In turn, the world will also be impacted significantly by developments in our country, especially as India emerges as one of the major global centres. One of the key manifestations of this more interdependent world is the emergence of greater connectivity. The challenge of its creation in Asia has to take into account a compli- cated mix of opportunities and uncertainties. By focusing on international trends and devel- opments from an Indian perspective, the Raisina Dialogue can help us all understand this evolving dynamic and benefit from it. I am confident that the deliberations of the Raisina Dialogue will contribute to our policies and practices over the course of the year. I look forward to the Dialogue and expect its con- clusions to reflect the collective wisdom of all its participants. CONFERENCE BOOKLET n 1-3 MARCH 2016 n NEW DELHI 3 Message by Foreign Secretary of India he need for an Indian platform that brings together diplomatic scholars and practi- tioners to take stock of strategic trends has been felt for some time. The Raisina TDialogue is part of one of our endeavours to fill this gap. The association of the Min- istry of External Affairs with this initiative is also in keeping with our approach in recent times to seek wider inputs for our policy making. This, in turn, reflects more confidence in India’s engagement with the world, which has manifested itself in many ways since 2014. A recent characteristic of our foreign policy has been its focus on promoting domestic development and modernisation by engaging foreign partners. Among its major priorities is the shaping of Asian connectivity, an exercise as important for economic efficiency as political influence. The absence of a settled security architecture makes this endeavour even more challenging. The threat of disruptions is paradoxically rising even as new outlines of cooperation form. This increasingly complex task requires exchange of views as it does bal- ancing of interests. Consequently, it is a particularly relevant theme for broad deliberations on a shared objective. India is today responsive to the expectation in the region and beyond that it would partic- ipate constructively in the key global debates and help shape their outcomes. The nature of connectivity in Asia surely ranks high in that regard. We are willing to rise to the challenge, but can undeniably benefit from the counsel and advice of friends and well-wishers. I see the Raisina Dialogue emerging as one of the forums for aggregating these perspectives and inputs for guiding our thoughts and actions. I would like to convey my appreciation to the Observer Research Foundation, which has shouldered the responsibility for organising the Dialogue. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the participants of the Raisina Dialogue. I look forward to participating and ben- efitting from its proceedings. Dr. S. Jaishankar CONFERENCE BOOKLET n 1-3 MARCH 2016 n NEW DELHI 5 DIALOGUE Message from the Director, Observer Research Foundation t is my pleasure and privilege to welcome distin- role in the processes that seek to manage the world we guished leaders, important thinkers, practitioners and inhabit. This platform seeks to provide the right space Iaca-demics, many of whom have travelled great dis- and right environs for this endeavour by encouraging tances to join us, to the inaugural Raisina Dialogue, a cross-sectoral, regional and truly global dis-cussions joint initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on pressing issues of our times. It also allows India and and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). the region to benefit from the immense global talent pool Multiple sessions over the next three days at The Rai- and ideas that are an imperative for responding to the sina Dialogue hope to create a new global platform that complex challenges around us. allows for the expression of multiple views, analyses and This forum has been in the planning for a couple of perspectives on the region and the world. In the process years and under the leadership of the External Affairs we strive to initiate conversations that cradle new ideas, Minister and Foreign Secretary of India, we have been those that will indeed guide the politi-cal and economic able to move from decision to implementation in less evolution of Asia and its partners in the years ahead. than 60 days. I am extremely grateful to the team at the The fact that this platform is based in New Delhi is MEA for making this possible. testimony to the new realisation in this country that it Going forward, we at ORF are committed to ensur- must demonstrate leadership in both thought and ac- ing that The Raisina Dialogue transcends its geography tion. New narratives must be shaped by those with the and becomes a platform that is owned, shaped and cul- greatest stake in the future. Asia will and must chart its tivated by each of you. Its success will be based on the direction for the decades ahead and key stakehold-ers contribution of your ideas, the proposal of your creative in Asia must be engaged. solutions and the new pathways we uncover together India is recognised as the land of diversity and ORF, toward our common quest for peace, prosperity and eq- therefore, believes that India’s development choices, exter- uitable development for all in the 21st cen-tury. nal engagements and global role will be shaped by diverse I look forward to interesting conversations, debates impetuses from within and outside. There-fore, there is a and discussions over the next three days, and most of need to exchange ideas and expand the bandwidth of its all, to the new friendships that will develop through this communications with the region and with the world. platform. All actors, be they governments, trans-national organ- isations, academics, or civil society, have a significant —Sunjoy Joshi, Director, ORF CONFERENCE BOOKLET n 1-3 MARCH 2016 n NEW DELHI 7 DIALOGUE 2016 DIALOGUE PROGRAMME CONFERENCE BOOKLET n 1-3 MARCH 2016 n NEW DELHI 9 DIALOGUE Agenda Programme Schedule ME Day-1 PROGRAM TUEsdaY March 1, 2016 17.00 – 18.00 Registration 18.00 – 19.30 Inaugural Panel Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation, India Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Former President, Sri Lanka Hamid Karzai, Former President, Afghanistan James Mancham, Former President, Seychelles Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, India Ashok Malik, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India Moderator: Samir Saran, Vice President, Observer Research Foundation, India 19.30 – 21.00 Welcome Dinner hosted by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India 10 CONFERENCE BOOKLET n 1-3 MARCH 2016 n NEW DELHI DIALOGUE Day-2 WEDNEssdaY March 2, 2016 PROGRAM 08.00-08.30 Breakfast 08.30-09.30 Breakfast Panel Whither European Union? This panel explores the challenges confronting the Eurozone, ME which continues to see slow growth and still needs to resolve the Greek financial crisis; the European Union value system, which is being put to test by a refugee crisis and terrorism; and the European periphery, under threat from an unstable east and Russian actions in the neighbourhood.