The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference held in New Delhi, envisioned to be India's flagship conference of geopolitics and geo-economics. The conference, organized like the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore[2], is held jointly by Ministry of External Affairs, India and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an independent think tank based in India. Its inaugural session was held in 2017 with theme of The New Normal : Multilateralism with multipolarity and before that from March 1 through 3rd in 2016. The conference name comes from Raisina Hill, the elevation in New Delhi, which is the location of both the Government of India as well as the presidential palace of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan, which inspired the design of the conference symbol.[3]
The theme of the first dialogue was "Connecting Asia" which tries to capture the various facets of these ambition.
This conference is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectorial conclave, involving policy and decision makers, including cabinet ministers from various Governments, high-level Government officials and policy practitioners, leading personalities from business and industry, and members of the strategic community, media and academia.
The inaugural dialogue was hosted between March 1 and 3, 2016, in New Delhi and witnessed participation of more than 100 speakers from over 35 countries. Indian news media called the Dialogue as "an attempt at packing a global punch in Delhi".
The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj talking in the first dialogue told "India preaches what it practices" and that "connectivity is very important for progress" and India would work for the development of the region and win over "vested interests".
Pointing out that the present government, which came to power in May 2014, has given a "new sense of purse to its foreign policy", the Minister the Raisina Dialogue would become an important event in the calendar of foreign policy and it would provide an international platform in India to leaders and experts of the region and the world to discuss issues and come up with solutions.
Earlier, speaking first, Ms Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former President of Sri Lanka, said there is a need for "pragmatic action plan" by the leaderships of the countries of the region to economically integrate and develop the region.
Pointing out that the conflict between India and Pakistan had hindered development of the region badly, Ms Kumaratunga called for "a new paradigm shift" in the policies of the governments, saying the new generations, having born after the Partition, have left behind conflict and are looking forward to development of the region.
She called for the "enterprise of building cooperation and economic integration" between the nations in South Asia first and then with other countries in Asia. Describing China as a big economic power in the region, along with India, the former SriLankan President suggested that the countries should look at China as an opportunity rather than as a threat.
Former Seychelles President James Mancham made a strong case for working for peace as the wars would never solve problems. He said it was unfortunate that the spending on defense by nations are three-four times the amount spent on human resources. "The fear is where the world is moving?" he said, adding the need for Asia to get together and work together for the development of the people.
Second edition of Raisina Dialoge was held from January 19-21, 2017, with the theme of "The New Normal: Multilateralism with Multi-Polarity". It was inaugurated by current PM Narendra Modi, with 69 nations participating. It was conducted in the shadows World Economic Forum 2017 in Davos, where Chinese president Xi Jinping also spoke. Notable was the absence of head of states of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka