Raisina Forum for Future of Diplomacy

On 17 October 2022, Perth USAsia Centre hosted a panel on the geo-politics of the Indian Ocean, at the Raisina Forum for the Future of Diplomacy in Delhi. It was chaired by Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake, and brought together Professor Johanna Weaver (Director of the Australian National University’s Tech Policy Design Centre), Vice Admiral (ret) Shekhar Sinha (India Foundation), Professor Harsh Pant (Observer Research Foundation) and Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy (the Centre’s Research Director and former Australian High Commissioner to Mauritius.)

The panel explored five key themes – the geostrategic context of the Indian Ocean region, maritime security, cybersecurity and the role of technology in the future of diplomacy, how growing strategic uncertainty was shaping India’s approach to maritime governance in the Indian Ocean, and the perspectives of small island states on geostrategic competition.

The Forum was co-hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and India’s Ministry of External Affairs, bringing together 36 early career diplomats from across the world for a ten-day policy workshop. The Forum included a series of lectures and group discussions on Indo-Pacific geopolitics, health, cyber governance, climate change and energy, development cooperation and multilateralism.