Indo-Spanish meeting of think tanks and analysts at ORF
The III Spain-India Forum concluded with a closed-door meeting at ORF between analysts and representatives of think tanks from India and Spain
On 23 November, a closed-door meeting between analysts and representatives of think tanks from India and Spain took place at the headquarters of the Indian think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi. This meeting promoted an atmosphere of exchange of ideas and collaboration, addressing key issues on the international scene.
Professor Harsh Pant, Vice President for Studies and Foreign Policy at the Observer Research Foundation, and Cristóbal Alvear, Director of the Spain-India Observatory, opened the event by highlighting the importance of a meeting that initiates a stage of exchange and collaboration between both entities, as well as between the network of think-tanks in both countries.
In the first session, which focused on India, the Indo-Pacific and the European Union, Mario López Areu, Coordinator for International Relations at the Spanish Association for India Interdisciplinary Studies (AEEII), offered introductory reflections on the Indo-Pacific from a European perspective. Shruti Pandalai, Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), provided an Indian perspective on dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. Patrizia Cogo Morales, Project Manager & Research Assistant at the Elcano Royal Institute's Office in Brussels, gave a brief analysis of the state of India-EU relations. After the introductory remarks, an interactive discussion was held to encourage the exchange of ideas among the participants.
The second session was devoted to India, Spain and the Global South. Ana Ballesteros, Senior Research Fellow at CIDOB, offered introductory reflections on Spain and India's involvement in the Mediterranean and Middle East region. Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, former Ambassador of India to Mexico and Distinguished Fellow at Gateway House, shared his perspective on India'sleadership in the Global South. Mikel Herrera, Analyst at the Spain-India Observatory and the Spain-Colombia and Spain-Peru Council Foundations, provided a trilateral view on relations between Spain, India and Latin America. A further round of interactive interventions was facilitated to address the issues raised.
With this final session, the III Spain-India Forum officially ended, leaving a lasting impression of fruitful dialogue and the promise of future interactions between the two nations. This event has not only strengthened bilateral ties, but also laid the foundation for strong diplomatic, academic, linguistic and strategic cooperation between India and Spain.
