EU-India Think Tanks workshop

The European Union and India have jointly worked together for over 50 years on various fields of mutual interest including poverty reduction, disaster prevention, trade expansion, promotion of shared research on energy, health, and agriculture, among others.

Extending this partnership, the Delegation of the European Union to India organised the EU-India Think Tanks Workshop on ‘EU and India: Next Steps Together’ to identify priority areas to strengthen the strategic partnership, focussing on cooperation in the realm of foreign policy and security. The event, which was graced by senior researchers, experts, and representatives of EU Member States in India, was held alongside the annual Raisina Dialogue.

Aimed at bringing together leading think tanks from India and the European Union to discuss the current geo-political environment in the regions, the workshop was organised in New Delhi on January 16, 2018. The initiative is aimed at bringing together leading think tanks from India and the European Union to promote better understanding and stimulate joint research to provide analytical inputs to the EU-India strategic partnership.

The workshop discussed the current context of EU-India relations in the backdrop of the emerging regional order in Asia focussing on issues such as the One Belt One Road initiative, connectivity, and the Indian Ocean. India's foreign policy towards Asia and the EU's growing interest in the region along with a future-oriented discussion on EU-India relations 10 years from now were also deliberated.

Leading Indian and European think tanks and institutions that participated in the conference included the Asia Pacific Research and Advice Network (APRAN) Brussels, Carnegie India, Chatham House UK, Clingendael Institute Netherlands, European Institute for Security Studies Brussels, Friends of Europe Brussels, Gateway House India Mumbai, Global Public Policy Institute Berlin, Istituto Affari Internazionali Rome, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, Latvian Institute of International Affairs Riga, Observer Research Foundation New Delhi, Polish Institute of International Affairs Warsaw and Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik Berlin.

This report highlights the main topics discussed at the workshop while presenting a session-wise summary.