New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) A Parliamentary panel has advocated that the Policy Planning and Research (PP&R) division of the External Affairs Ministry should position India before the international community through various platforms and try and elevate all such fora to such levels that the world should aspire to be a part of them.
Among all the platforms, the Parliamentary panel singled out the ‘Raisina Dialogue’ by the Observer Research Foundation, saying that it has become a global benchmark to reflect Indian thinking and rivals several international platforms.
In a report on ‘India’s policy planning and role of think tanks’ by the panel on external affairs, which was presented in both Houses of Parliament on Monday, it was stated that:
“In a global scenario where it is extremely important for the world outside to know not only what you think but to appreciate and accept the same also.
“Thus, the committee desire that the PP&R division of MEA position India before the international community through multiple structural platforms and strive to make each one of them, a platform that the entire world aspire to be a part of.”
It further noted that ever since the thrust of PP&R division was centered towards creating Indian global flagship platforms which would allow India to articulate its foreign policy directions to a global audience, they have been reaching out to the strategic and foreign policy community by supporting several collaborative activities.
“As a result, several flagship Indian platforms evolved at the global level, namely, the Raisina Dialogue, the Indian Ocean Conference, the Global Technology Summit, the Asia Economic Dialogue, etc. Among these platforms, the ‘Raisina Dialogue’ by the Observer Research Foundation has become the global benchmark to reflect Indian thinking and over a period of time, it has evolved as a platform which rivals any other international conference.”
At the same time, the committee took note of the popularity of certain other platforms like Shangri-La Dialogue and the Munich Security Conference among others.
The committee also noted that policy planning is not just limited to what the government thinks but it also responds to what is happening outside the government, including the thoughts of international think tanks, thoughts of civil society about India’s position and the way the academia looks at different relationships that India have.
Hence, the committee desired that the division maintain robust interfaces with all elements which are external to the government including the business and the corporate community.
Since the policy planning work needs the whole of government approach and the work is very crucial, the committee further desired that the division keeps itself up to date with the latest thinking, with the best of the personnel, who could create an anchored policy framework for building a strong India narrative abroad.