Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Raisina Dialogue on 21st February in New Delhi. The Chief guest was Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece who delivered the address.
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The 9th Raisina Dialogue, set in New Delhi, conducted from 21st February to 23rd February, 2024 hosts delegates from more than 100 nations. Among them are ministers, ex-Heads of State, military leaders, industry tycoons, tech innovators, scholars, journalists, and youth, ensuring a diverse and dynamic exchange of ideas. This year’s Raisina Dialogue theme is “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”.
S. Jaishankar’s stressing on reforms
During Raisina Dialogue Jaishankar, emphasized the need to improve international organizations, as they hadn’t found multilateral solutions to all the concerning and vital issues that occurred in recent years. And this lack of being able to find solutions has called for a reform. Mentioning that The UN was founded in 1950 with 50 countries and now 193 member states are a part of it, he says that the approach to solving global crisis must be changed. He focuses on multilateralism recognizing it as a baseline for minimum agreement between nations alongside advocating that individual states should engage in valuing their own interests.
Jaishankar highlighted that often global trading has been manipulated by certain countries for their individual gain. He noted that despite discussions on globalization, the system has been exploited contributing to present-day issues. Additionally, he pointed out that opposition to reforms within the UN Security Council doesn’t solely stem from Western nations.
Mr. Jaishankar emphasized India’s role as a bridging power, highlighting its impartial stance amidst global challenges like COVID and regional conflicts. Describing India’s approach as a multi-vector policy, which is popularly known as Vishvamitra, a “friend of the world,” he underscored the goal of maximizing relationships both domestically and internationally.
External Affairs Minister on Indo-China Relationship
S. Jaishankar stated that “mind games” will be played by China and he opposes that by saying that these will not be able to bring the two countries on an equilibrium. In order to bring about peace between India and China, other factors should be taken into consideration so that they can together maintain the international harmony.
In the discussion, during the Raisina Dialogue he acknowledged both China and India are at a different pace and that’s obviously because of their distinct starting points. China started its developmental journey much earlier with greater intensity but there comes a time when one flattens out. “There will be a period when they will be flattening out and we will be growing”, he said.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Indo- Greece Relationship
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece called India as the world’s fastest-growing major economy during the dialogue. He highlights Greece’s economic growth in recent years and emphasizes that mutual investment played a key role in bilateral relations. Mitsotakis celebrates existing Greek investments across various sectors in India, such as food processing, maritime and air transport, and logistics. Furthermore, he gladly underscores India’s significant investments in Greece’s infrastructure, including the construction of a new airport by GMR. Mitsotakis, in agreement with Prime Minister Modi, advocates for more ambitious targets, aiming to double bilateral trade by 2030.
Raisina Dialogue
Presented by the independent think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, the dialogue serves as a global forum for discussing geopolitical matters, dedicated to tackling the challenges that confront the global community. The conference is held annually in New Delhi, since its beginning in 2016 and is attended by people from diverse backgrounds like that of political, business, media etc. There are more than 2500 participants from 115 countries across the globe who have joined the conference in person. The Dialogue is viewed by millions of people on various digital platforms.
