Raisina Dialogue


The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference held annually in New Delhi, India. Since its inception in 2016, the conference has emerged as India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
The conference is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving a variety of global policymakers including heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials. In addition, the Dialogue also welcomes major private sector executives, as well as members of the media and academia. It is designed on the lines of Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue.
The name "Raisina Dialogue" comes from Raisina Hill, an elevation in New Delhi, seat of the Government of India, as well as the Presidential Palace of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Raisina Dialogue 2016

The first Raisina Dialogue was held from March 1–3, 2016. Over 100 speakers from over 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. Panels and discussions explored opportunities and challenges for the region to manage its common spaces, as well as the global partnerships needed to develop common pathways in this century.
Following the inaugural conference, the news media lauded the event as “packing a global punch in Delhi”. The conference report can be found

Raisina Dialogue 2017

In 2017, The Dialogue was held from January 17–19. Held on a larger scale, the conference welcomed over 120 speakers from 65 countries and upwards of 800 participants. Attendees discussed the theme, “The New Normal: Multilateralism with Multipolarity”.
The Prime Minister of India, , inaugurated the 2017 edition of the Raisina Dialogue. Other eminent speakers included the former President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai; the former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper; Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prakash Sharan Mahat; U.K.’s Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson; the Diplomatic Adviser to the President of France, :fr:Jacques Audibert|Jacques Audibert; Commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Europe and Africa, Admiral Michelle Howard; Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, Jr.; and the Indian Chief of the Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat. The conference report can be found online.

Raisina Dialogue 2018

The third edition of The Raisina Dialogue was held at the Taj Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi, India from January 16–18, 2018.
The theme for the 2018 Conference is “Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms”. This theme is designed to explore the shifting dynamics within the global order; where old relationships need new directions, emerging partnerships face unprecedented constraints and the notions of power and sovereignty are challenged. The Dialogue will foster discussion on the role of institutions, the possibility of collective action and successful responses to these modern developments.
Raisina Dialogue 2018 was attended by following scholars and officials:
NameDesignationCountry
Narendra ModiPrime Minister of India
Sushma SwarajForeign Minister of India
S JaishankarForeign Secretary
Sunjoy JoshiChairman, Observer Research Foundation
Benjamin NetanyahuPrime Minister of Israel
Konstantin KosachevChair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council
Hans DahlgrenState Secretary for International and EU Affairs to Prime Minister
David MaloneRector, United Nations University
Jayant SinhaMinistry of Civil Aviation
Gabriela RamosOECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20
Joseph LubinFounder, ConsenSys
Stavros N. YiannoukaCEO, World Innovation Summit for Education
Peter SwireProfessor of Law and Ethics, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology
Alexander GabuevSenior Fellow and the Chair of the Russia in the Asia- Pacific Program, Carnegie Moscow Center
Thomas GomartDirector, IFRI
Heather HurlburtDirector, New Models of Policy Change, New America
Houda CherifPresident, Connecting Group Tunisia
Lucy ShuleLecturer and Director of Studies, National Defence College
General Bipin RawatChief of Army Staff, India
General Chris DeverellJoint Forces Commander, U.K.
Husain HaqqaniSenior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia, Hudson Institute
Vyacheslav NikonovMember of the State Duma, Russia
M.J. AkbarMinister of State External Affairs, India
Zalmay KhalilzadFormer Ambassador of United States to the United NationsUnited States
Smriti IraniMinister for Textiles and Information and Broadcasting, India
Wendy Ruth ShermanSenior Counselor, Albright Stonebridge GroupUnited States
Pascale FungProfessor, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Suresh PrabhuMinister of Commerce and Industry, India
Kenneth JusterU.S. Ambassador to IndiaUnited States
Rajiv LallCEO, IDFC Bank
Nisha BiswalPresident, US-India Business Council
Saad MohseniChairman and CEO, Moby Group
Rory MedcalfHead, National Security College, Australian National University
Christopher PyneMinister for Defence Industry, Australia
Maliki OsmanSenior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Ram MadhavNational General Secretary, BJP and Director, India Foundation
Nadia SchadlowDeputy Assistant to the President for National Security Strategy, U.S. National Security Council
Raja MohanDirector, Carnegie India
Stephen HarperFormer Prime Minister, Canada
James CarafanoVice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Ina LepelDirector-General on Asia and the Pacific, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
Shashi TharoorMember of Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, India
Marek MagierowskiDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland
Charles PowellDirector, Elcano Royal Institute
Carl BildtFormer Prime Minister, Sweden
Geoffrey Van OrdenMember of the European Parliament for the East of England
Hardeep Singh PuriMinister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, India
Daniel AndrewsPremier of Victoria, Australia
Kentaro SonouraAdvisor to the Prime Minister, Japan
Harsh PantDistinguished Fellow and Head, Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation
Sanjeev SanyalPrincipal Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, India
Cleo PaskalAssociate Fellow in the Energy, Environment and Resources Department, Chatham House
Tanvi MadanDirector, India Project, Brookings InstitutionIndia
Asle TojeDirector of Research, Nobel Peace Prize Research and Information, The Norwegian Nobel Institute
Vijay Keshav GokhaleSecretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India
István MikolaMinister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation, Hungary
Michael FulliloveExecutive Director, Lowy Institute
General V. K. SinghMinister of State for External Affairs, India
Hamid KarzaiFormer President, Afghanistan
Yalda HakimHost, BBC World News
Ryamizard RyacuduMinister of Defence, Indonesia
Vasantha SenanayakeState Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka
Shankar Das BairagiForeign Secretary, Nepal
Preeti SaranSecretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Baijayant PandaMember of Parliament, India
Amitabh KantCEO, NITI Aayog
Vijay Shekhar SharmaFounder and Head, Paytm
Admiral Sunil LanbaChief of Naval Staff, India
Admiral Harry HarrisCommander, U.S. Pacific CommandUnited States
Admiral Katsutoshi KawanoChief of Staff, Joint Staff, Japan
Vice Admiral Tim BarretChief of Navy, AustraliaAustralia
Yul SohnDirector, East Asia Institute
Neelam DeoDirector, Gateway House
Rohinton P. MedhoraPresident, Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abul Hassan Mahmood AliMinister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
Maurice Gourdault-MontagneCareer diplomat
General David H. PetraeusU.S. Army, RetiredUnited States
Swapan DasguptaMember of Parliament, India
Tim HitchensChief Executive, Commonwealth Summit Unit
Premdut KoonjooMinister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Republic of Mauritius

Raisina Dialogue 2019

The fourth edition of The Raisina Dialogue was held at the Taj Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi, India from January 08–10, 2019.
The theme for the 2019 conference was "New Geometrics | Fluid Partnerships | Uncertain Outcomes". The theme represents a logical progression from the previous edition, which focused on Managing Disruptions and Transitions. In her remarks, then External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj writes, "As the world seeks solutions to the constantly changing political, economic, and strategic landscape, “A World Reorder” is indeed an appropriate and timely theme. I hope the discussions will foster frank deliberations on the geopolitical reordering that is underway and point us towards creative and innovative solutions".
This conference was organised in partnership with Ministry of External Affairs.

Publications

Each year, The Raisina Dialogue publishes a series of publications in order to ensure a continual dialogue of conference themes and highlights. Among these publications are , which contain a set of commentaries authored by high-profile speakers and delegates.
Additionally, ORF publishes a and several policy reports to supplement the conversations held at each conference.