Calling the
Raisina Dialogue a “crossroads” for open and multi-dimensional discussions, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday that the forum has, over the years, influenced global discourse on issues ranging from regional conflicts to environmental crises.
Speaking at a session-themed “Kalchakra” (wheel of time), Misri described a world where economic nationalism and globalisation coexist in a constant push and pull.
He also invoked the metaphor of the “arc of history” to emphasise his point.
”Because, we often talk of the arc of history bending in this direction and that…and therefore, it was particularly instructive to see this mentioned recently, which is that the arc of history that bends in a ceratin direction, can also snap back without warning,” Misri said.
”And, this is the point where we remember ’kalchakra’, and therefore, perhaps, one thing that I would leave all of you with…what we perhaps need to shed the arrogance of certainty, as we meet to discuss the state of our people, state of our planet, and prospects of peace on this one world that we inhabit,” he said.
The foreign secretary said the Raisina Dialogue’s first edition started in 2016 and now in its tenth edition, the scale of the event and its participants both have grown.
In the Raisina Dialogue 2025, there are 125 sessions planned over the three days from March 17-19, and from 35 countries in inaugural edition, this time 131 countries are being represented at the conclave.
”Over the years, the content and quality at the Raisina Dialogue have not only kept pace with the international churn, they have also in the process shaped the evolving discourse on the key issues of our times,” Misri said.
Be it regional conflicts, socio-cultural realignments, trade and technology disruptions, supply chain resilience, or environmental crises, sustainability and growth and development, the foreign secretary said.
Since, international order, especially one where ”rules are increasingly being challenged”, is often ”likened to a jungle”, the importance of watering holes such as this, is something that would not be lost on the audience here, he added.
”Raisina (Dialogue) therefore offers an apt, global public square…and a crossroads, if you will, for free flowing multi-dimensional discussions while bringing a breathtaking diversity of opinions to the table,” he said.
”And, the menu at the table this year is a full one, if not already overflowing, a world in which the push and pull of the forces of economic nationalism and globalisation co-exist, where there is growing scepticism towards multilateral institutions.
”…And an increasing preferenc