In a significant development, the IISS in early 2007 initiated a new series of high-profile Foreign Policy Dialogues with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in London and New Delhi.
On 5 February 2007, the First First IISS-Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Foreign Policy Dialogue took place in London. The meeting was on-the-record with participation by invitation only.This important and timely one-day seminar brought together senior officials and experts from India and the UK. This was the first time that the MEA had engaged directly with an international think tank.
The keynote address was delivered by the leader of the MEA delegation, Ambassador Arif S. Khan, Additional Secretary (Public Diplomacy), MEA. This was followed by an Address by Mr Adam Thomson, Director, South Asia and Afghanistan, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London. The three plenary sessions focused on ‘Growing Asian Economies: Challenges & Opportunities’, ‘Terrorism and Transnational Security Challenges in South Asia’, and ‘UK-India Partnership in a Global Perspective’. A policy-relevant discussion took place at the end of the presentations. The other members of the MEA delegation included Ambassador M.K. Rasgotra, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board, Prime Minister’s Office; Dr. C. Raja Mohan, Strategic Affairs Editor, The Indian Express; and Professor Pulin B. Nayak, Director, Delhi School of Economics.
This was followed on December 13, 2007, with the Second IISS-MEA Foreign Policy Dialogue in New Delhi. Inaugurated by the Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, it was divided into three main sessions on ‘Global Developments’; ‘International Terrorism’; and ‘Energy Security’.
The Governor of Rajasthan, Mr. S.K. Singh, gave a special address to the Dialogue. The Members of the IISS team were Dr. Patrick Cronin, IISS Director of Studies (Team Leader); Sir Hilary Synnott, IISS Consulting Senior Fellow for South Asia & the Gulf; Sir Michael Quinlan, IISS Consulting Senior Fellow; Mr. Nigel Inkster, IISS Director of Transnational Threats & Political Risk; Col. (retd.) John H. Gill, IISS Senior Visiting Fellow & Professor, Near East – South Asia Centre, Washington DC; and Mr. Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, IISS Senior Fellow for South Asia.
