From March 16 to March 22, a delegation from APRI Armenia visited New Delhi to take part in the Raisina Dialogue and engage with key think tanks, business leaders, and decision-making centers. The delegation included Lara Setrakian, APRI Armenia President; Leonid Nersisyan, Senior Research Fellow; Nvard Chalikyan, Research Fellow; Sergei Melkonian, Research Fellow; and Davit Antonyan, Associate Fellow.
The Raisina Dialogue, India’s largest geopolitical and geoeconomic conference, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, had the theme of “Kālachakra: People, Peace, Planet.” Discussions were held on topics including the changing international world order and new trends, minilateralism, the rise of the Global South, US–Russia negotiations, India’s foreign policy, and ongoing geopolitical changes that also affect the South Caucasus. In addition, Lara Setrakian moderated a session entitled “Capital’s Gender Bias: Making Money Flow to Women Entrepreneurs.”
As part of its India research track, the APRI Armenia delegation met with think tanks and academic institutions, including the Observer Research Foundation, Usanas Foundation, the Indian Council of World Affairs, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and other think tanks. The meetings and roundtable discussions focused on the geopolitical and security situation in the South Caucasus and the role of big powers, India’s policies in the region, the current dynamics of the India–Armenia partnership, and the potential for expanding India–Armenia relations in various sectors.
APRI Armenia also engaged industry leaders and economists to analyze concrete economic sectors in which the India–Armenia relationship could be expanded, including trade, agriculture, technologies, mining, manufacturing, tourism, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and clean energy.
Lastly, the APRI delegation met local media groups and journalists, delivering interviews on the state of India–Armenia relations and regional geopolitics in the South Caucasus.
The purpose of the trip was threefold. First, it allowed the APRI research team to continue to analyze India–Armenia relations and identify key opportunities to fortify the relationship as well as obstacles that prevent bilateral relations from developing further. Second, it enabled APRI Armenia, as a think-and-do tank, to continue to set up strategic convenings between Armenia’s business/technology communities and their Indian counterparts to continue conversations around concrete business ideas and drive mutual private-sector interest. Last, the trip offered an opportunity to maintain pre-existing relationships in India while meeting and collaborating with new partners.
We are grateful to the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation for providing support for APRI Armenia’s participation.
