Ep. 39: The 2020 Raisina Dialogue

Allan and Darren try something different this episode, with Allan taking the lead in asking Darren about his experience attending the Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship international affairs conference, held in New Delhi from 14-16 January 2020, and organised the Observer Research Foundation.

The conversation begins with an introduction to Raisina and comparisons with the Shangri-La Dialogue. Allan then asks Darren what his major takeaways were, starting with the current strategic debate in India. The conversation then moves to the often-fraught Sino-Indian relationship, before turning to the recent controversies inside India regarding the status of Muslims—how were these handled at the Dialogue? 

From an Australian perspective, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was scheduled to give the keynote address, but had to cancel to remain in Australia to oversee the bushfire response. Nevertheless, Foreign Minister Marise Payne led a sizeable Australian contingent, and Darren offers some impressions regarding how Australian diplomats manage a foreign minister’s visit. Darren finishes with some personal reflections on the event and whether it changed his thinking.

As always, we invite our listeners to email us at this address: [email protected] We welcome feedback, requests and suggestions. You can also contact Darren on twitter @limdarrenj

Thanks to AIIA intern Isabel Hancock for research and audio editing and Rory Stenning for composing our theme music.

Relevant links

Observer Research Foundation, Raisina Dialogue homepage: https://www.orfonline.org/raisina-dialogue/

Videos of Raisina Dialogue 2020 Panels:

Inaugural panel (including Stephen Harper): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZjUoIwDeTg

Interview with Dr S. Jaishankar, Indian External Affairs Minister: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KufSx9RW-q0

Panel “Hacking Democracy: Defending Pluralism in the Digital Age” (including Stephen Harper and Marietje Schaake): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqtgZwwsGHY 

Panel “Plural Waters: Strengthening Democracy in the Indo-Pacific” (including Ram Madhav, BJP General Secretary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byINgxdHSYc

Final panel “Coalitions and Consensus: In Defense of Values that Matter” (including Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gotKrQTVKQ4    

Interview with Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHIqnQHvrXY

PM Scott Morrison’s Message for Raisina Dialogue 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM023sUFvwg

Darren Lim, “Scott Morrison wasn’t at the Raisina Dialogue, but his ideas were”, Lowy Interpreter, 29 January 2019: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/scott-morrison-wasn-t-raisina-dialogue-his-ideas-were