Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi held a dialogue with its MoU partner in Spain, Casa Asia on 10 May 2022. Speakers in the opening session included Amb. Vijay Thakur Singh, Director General, Indian Council of World Affairs, and Mr. Javier Parrondo, Director General, Casa Asia.
In the opening session, it was emphasized that the relations between India and Spain are marked by high degree of trust and mutual respect. Both share long-standing friendly relations, marked by political contacts, economic engagement and cultural links. It was noted that the evolving situation in Ukraine has far-reaching impact on geo-politics and geo-economics. It has heightened great power contestation and put stability of the international order under stress. It was pointed that India has been historically known for having its own profile in international relations and for maintaining independent outlook in terms of geopolitics. Policies such as Look East Policy from 1991 as well as most recent Act East Policy show India’s genuine interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
Session 1 on Global Developments was chaired by Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva, Professor, Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, JNU. Speakers included Ms. Irene Martinez, Real Instituto Elcano and Amb. Rakesh Sood, Former Ambassador of India to France. The focus of the discussions was the recent developments in the global arena and the strategic competition between US and China. During the discussions, it was pointed out that there are two shifts observed at the global level - the Ukraine crisis and emerging dynamics between US and China. The US-China rivalry was full spectrum - economic, military, technological and ideological. On the Ukrainian crisis, it was pointed out that, owing to the response of Kiev and the West, the endgame of the crisis remains to be seen.
Session 2 on Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific was chaired by Mr. Rafael Bueno, Casa Asia. Speakers for the session were Amb. Anil Wadhwa, Former Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and Amb. Emilio de Miguel, Casa Asia and Spanish MOFA. The session focused on the geopolitical dynamics in the Indo-Pacific and the emerging trends in the region. It was emphasised that EU realises the geopolitical and geo-economic importance of the Indo-Pacific and this is reflected in its strategy towards the region. It was pointed out that the EU seeks a multifaceted relation with the countries of the Indo-Pacific and it would like to explore areas of cooperation in the region with India. During the discussions various regional initiatives were highlighted – such as Quad, which has evolved to address 21st Century challenges; India, Israel, UAE and US (I2U2) coming together to cooperate on infrastructure development and connectivity; the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
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