Security and defence policies were discussed in depth during the Spain-India Dialogue on Global, Geoeconomic and Defence Challenges, as both are extremely relevant in the current world climate, especially due to international terrorism. Enrique Mora, Director General of Foreign Policy and Security, praised India’s spectacular progress in this area and highlighted challenges which are common to the two countries. In his opinion, civil society must become more involved to support the measures taken on a political level. The Indian experts agreed, and stated that a greater connection between the civil societies of the two countries would strengthen ties and help reduce any tensions that might arise.
The panellists emphasised the similarities between modern-day Asia and Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, where clearly nationalist countries had vast military and economic power, which can lead to tensions that should be avoided by all means. In this context, some challenges remain unchanged, but others have adapted to the times we live in, said Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, Director of the Society for Policy Studies, who also emphasised the advantages of reaching agreements in these uncertain times. Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, backed this idea: “Uncertainty is permanent, be it because of the price of oil or because of the threat posed by terrorism. But we can and we must reinforce cooperation to mitigate it.” Vinod Anand, Senior Fellow and Research Coordinator at Vivekananda International Foundation, highlighted the importance of bilateral agreements on classified information as a sign of good relations between the two countries.
Nicolás de Pedro, Research Fellow at CIDOB, focused his speech on the challenges that both countries must face, such as eliminating stereotypes and accounting for the differences between them in terms of size, social complexities and interests. He encouraged the attendees to take an efficient approach to bilateral relations, understanding that, for India, neither the European Union nor Spain are a priority. Sea Captain Ignacio José García, Deputy Director of the Spanish Institute of Strategy Studies, said “we cannot talk about an alliance of equals when that is not what we are.”
Carlos Westendorp, Secretary General of Club de Madrid, highlighted the leadership role of India in the new world order, in which power has shifted towards Asia and is now focused on security and defence, and said joint work to consolidate democracy was crucial. The common actions in other areas such as nuclear energy, climate change, cyber-security and the opportunities offered by the naval industry and international missions for joint cooperation were also addressed by Vinod Anand, Senior Fellow and Research Coordinator at Vivekananda International Foundation; Ignacio José García, Deputy Director of the Spanish Institute of Strategy Studies; Rumel Dahiya, Deputy Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and Luis Simón, Associate Researcher at FRIDE. It should be noted that these topics were discussed at a meeting held by the participants in SICF’s Indian Leaders Programme with the Secretary General for Defence Policy, Alejandro Alvargonzález.
You can visit the participants’ profiles via this link.
Photo gallery: Opening session and ‘Global Affairs: Partnering in an uncertain world’ panel
Photo gallery: ‘Geoeconomics: Mapping the Changing Terrain of Geoeconomics’ panel
Photo gallery: ‘Defence and Security: Common Challenges and Shared Perspectives’ panel and closing session
You can check out the event’s agenda via this link.
