The fifth edition of Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship global conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, was held in New Delhi from January 14 to 16. The 2020 edition brought together 700 participants from more than 100 countries, of which 80 were from Africa, in one of the largest gatherings of its kind.

During the inaugural session, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Danish PM and former NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen said he would like to see a global alliance of democracies to stand up to oppressive rulers and regimes and India could play an important role in such a coalition.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was scheduled to deliver the inaugural address at the Raisina Dialogue but had to call off his four-day visit due to devastating bushfires in several parts of his country, sent a video message for the dialogue.

During the inaugural session, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, former Canadian PM Stephen Harper, former Swedish PM Carl Bildt, Rasmussen, former Bhutanese premier Tshering Tobgay and former South Korean PM Han Seung-soo discussed global challenges.

Important challenges facing the world related to globalisation, 2030 agenda, technology’s role in the modern world and climate change were part of the discussion. The spiralling US-Iran tensions following the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike were also discussed in the conference.

What is the Raisina Dialogue?

The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community. Every year, global leaders in policy, business, media and civil society are hosted in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy matters.

The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials, as well as major private sector executives, members of the media and academics.

The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs.

The first Raisina Dialogue was held from March 1 to 3, 2016. More than 100 speakers from 35 countries attended to speak on the theme, “Asia: Regional and Global Connectivity”. The focus of the 2016 conference was on Asia’s physical, economic, human and digital connectivity.

The second edition was held from January 17 to 19, 2017 with the theme “The New Normal: Multilateralism with Multi-Polarity”.

In the third edition, the theme was “Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms”. The theme was designed to explore the shifting dynamics within the global order.

In 2019, more than 2,000 participants, including 600 delegates and speakers from 92 countries, took part in the conference curated around the theme A World Re-order: New Geometrics, Fluid Partnerships, Uncertain Outcomes.

What was the theme of this year’s edition?

The theme of the Raisina Dialogue 2020 was 21@20: Navigating the Alpha Century. Alluding to the unique international moment this edition of the Raisina Dialogue was situated in, ORF chairman Sunjoy Joshi said, “We convene at a time when the 21st century, forced to shed any lurking remnants of the optimism of its teen years, confronts an out-of-kilter, harsher world.”

Intensive deliberations were held over 80 sessions around five thematic pillars.

1. The nationalist impulses challenging global institutions and collective action.

2. The debate on the global trading architecture.

3. The role of technologies in determining political, economic and military power.

4. The global development agenda.

5. The state-individual relationship in the age of digital communities and cyberspace.

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