New Delhi: The Defence Ministry is planning its own seminar or global event in line with the Raisina Dialogue and the Shangri-La Dialogue, focusing purely on military matters and warfare.
Defence sources said the initiative will be called ‘Ran Samvad’ and the plan over the next 3 years is to bring it on par with, or make it better than the two initiatives mentioned above.
The sources added the event will be conducted by each service—the Army, the Navy and the Air Force—in rotation, with the tri-services think-tank Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) being the permanent feature.
The first dialogue by the Army is planned at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, from 26 to 27 August this year, sources said, adding the first edition would be held on a small scale but will have all defence attachés posted in India in attendance.
This dialogue will primarily focus on warfighting and, over the next 2 years, will focus on having important foreign dignitaries like the US Secretary of Defence, among others.
The sources said the aim is to make India a prominent part of the global defence dialogue and be the voice of the Global South in furthering a collaborative approach.
The Raisina Dialogue is held by the Ministry of External Affairs along with private think-tank Observer Research Foundation which was founded with the donation of Dhirubhai Ambani.
The sources said that while Raisina Dialogue does have a defence element, it is not comprehensive. It was started in 2016 and is held every year.
The Shangri-La dialogue, held in Singapore, is organised by independent think-tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Founded in 1958 in London, the IISS’ first director was defence journalist Alastair Buchan while its first president was former Labour prime minister Clement Attlee.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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