Page 17 - ICWA NewsletterOctober- December 2020

INDIAN COUNCIL
OF WORLD AFFAIRS
Webinar on ‘Upcoming General Elections in Myanmar
(8 November 2020): A Test for NLD Led Democratic
Transition?’
2 November 2020
ICWA organised a webinar on “Upcoming
A General Elections in Myanmar: A Test for
the NLD Led Democratic Transition?’ 2 November
2020. Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Senior
Visiting Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, Delhi
chaired the discussion. The speakers of the webinar
were Dr. Khin Zaw Win, Director, Tampadipa
Institute, Yangon, Mr. Pradip Phanjoubam, Founder,
FPSJ Review of Arts and Politics, Web Portal, Prof.
Nehginpao Kipgen, Executive Director, Center
for Southeast
Asian Studies,
Jindal School of
International
Affairs, Sonipat, Dr.
Rahul Mishra, Senior
Lecturer, Asia-
Europe Institute,
ICWA-ASEAN India Centre (AIC), RIS Conference on
‘20 years of Mekong Ganga Cooperation’
5-6 November 2020
The Indian Council of World Affairs in
A collaboration with the ASEAN-India Centre at
Research and Information System for Developing
Countries (RIS), New Delhi, organised a two-day
international webinar on “20 Years of Mekong-
Ganga Cooperation (MGC)” on 5-6 November 2020
to commemorate the two decades of this initiative.
The Webinar had a total of 23 speakers from India
and the Mekong countries. The speakers constituted
a multi-disciplinary group of academics, policy
makers, diplomats, and experts.
Major themes discussed over five sessions of the
Webinar included:
• Shared Culture and Heritage
• Economic Relations
ISSUE : 23 | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2020
SAPRU HOUSE
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Observations
were made by Dr. Samatha Mallempati, Research
Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
During the discussions it was observed that the 2015
elections in Myanmar were a major land mark which
were conducted peacefully with a marked departure
from the past and witnessed liberalisation in the
political sphere and opening up of the media along
with robust involvement of the civil society. For
India, Myanmar has been important and a reliable
partner in maintaining peace and security and both
sides are mindful and have managed to maintain a
balance between the military and democratic forces.
India has had a pragmatic policy of non-interference
with Myanmar. In the next five years, there is a need
to help build and strengthen the institutions of
democracy in Myanmar.
• New Economy and
Sectoral Cooperation
• People-to-People Contacts
• Way Forward: Towards the Third Decade of MGC
Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, India
Smt. Riva Ganguly Das delivered the inaugural
address. She emphasised the historical, cultural,
and geographical linkages between India and
the Mekong region and how they enrich the
contemporary cooperation. Director General, ICWA,
Dr. TCA Raghavan emphasised the need to make
efforts to enhance collective scholarly endeavours
focusing on our common heritage, civilizational
and historical linkages. Twenty years of MGC is
an opportune occasion to take stock and reflect
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