Anupam Kumar

My Assessment of Raisina Dialogue 2026

Raisina Dialogue is a highly complex event that is executed through immense effort behind the scenes while appearing seamless in the foreground.

First published on Substack

Raisina Dialogue is a highly complex event that is executed through immense effort behind the scenes while appearing seamless in the foreground. The scale of coordination becomes even more apparent when viewed against the current global context—disruptions in international travel, fractured geopolitical relationships, rising economic uncertainty, and the explosive growth of artificial intelligence.

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Raisina Dialogue 2026 addressed this entire spectrum. Discussions ranged from positive developments such as AI innovation and economic resilience to darker realities such as rising conflicts, security anxieties, and the erosion of sovereignty. Across panels, participants repeatedly examined the evolving relationship between the Global North and the Global South—its convergences, its tensions, and the policy actions required to build a more balanced and equitable global order.

The event was anchored by excellent moderators, including the ever-reliable Samir Saran, Palki Sharma, N. K. Singh, and Louise Marie Hurel.

Below are the sessions I attended (unfortunately without Hermione’s time-turner, as several sessions ran in parallel).

1. BRICS by BRICS: Building the Other World

Speakers: Shambhu Hakki, Renato Galvão Flôres, Tan Ya, Victoria Panova Moderator: Harsh V Pant

Highlight: “Alternative vs. Complimentary” — BRICS is a diverse grouping of countries with different political and economic systems. Rather than replacing existing multilateral institutions, it seeks to complement them by filling institutional gaps.

2. Labour in Motion: Mobility in the Technopolar Age

Speakers: Matias Marttinen, Alexander Schallenberg, František Ruzicka, Sanjeev Krishan, Radhicka Kapoor, Zubin Karkaria Moderator: Carolin Albrecht

Highlight: “Physical Mobility vs. Digital Mobility” — The global shortage of skilled workers combined with political resistance to migration may increasingly be addressed through digital mobility, enabling skilled individuals to contribute across borders without physically relocating.

3. Recipes for Resilience: Food Security and Geopolitics

Speakers: Scott Moe, Brook Cunningham, David Laborde, Mudit Kapoor, Sara Roversi Moderator: Caroline Delgado

Highlight: Food Security vs. National Security — Three foundational pillars underpin national security: food security, energy security, and water security.

4. Conversation on AI with Nandan Nilekani

Speakers: Nandan Nilekani Moderator: Rudra Chaudhuri

Highlight: “Race to the bottom” vs. “Race to the top” — Rather than competing through regulatory dilution, societies should focus on practical AI implementation that bridges the gap between technological potential and real-world impact.

5. Essential Bilateral: Will India and Europe Redefine Autonomy Together?

Speakers: Sibi George, Clara Volintiru, Benjamin Haddad, Carolin Albrecht, Subhrakant Panda, Ummu Salma Bava Moderator: Kevin Baron

Highlight: New Friends vs. Shifting Partnerships — Nations do not collaborate only because they share values or friendship; they increasingly cooperate through pragmatic partnerships that serve mutual interests.

6. Agents Without Guardrails: Securing the Next Era of AI Autonomy

Speakers: Sanjay Bahl, Fitriani, Gautam Aggarwal, Marianna Marcucci, Sabeen Malik Moderator: William Marks

Highlight: Privacy vs. Guardrails — The development of AI requires strong technological governance supported by a capable society to ensure systems reflect human values while safeguarding privacy.

7. Imbalance of Power: Transatlantic Drift and a Rising China

Speakers: Carl Bildt, Stephen Harper, Tomáš Petříček, Bonnie Glick, Carla Sands Moderator: Palki Sharma

Highlight: “Rule of law” vs. “Rule by law” — The emerging global order appears to be bifurcating between competing technological ecosystems: democratic systems governed by the rule of law and autocratic systems governed by rule by law.

8. The Silent Revolution: Women in the Workforce

Speakers: Priyanka Chaturvedi, Chevaan Daniel, Gwendoline Abunaw, Jackline Kagume, Sunaina Kumar Moderator: Anna-Katharina Hornidge

Highlight: Legal vs. Reality — Although legal frameworks increasingly recognise women’s contributions, the real challenge lies in translating these rights into meaningful participation and equality within workplaces.

9. In Conversation with Sanjeev Sanyal

Speakers: Sanjeev Sanyal Moderator: Gautam Chikermane

Highlight: With over 90 percent of India’s goods transported by foreign shipping lines, the country faces significant strategic risks if global shipping networks are disrupted or if geopolitical tensions interrupt maritime supply chains.

10. The Art of the Impossible: Finding Trillions for the Transition

Speakers: Niels Annen, Dag Huse, Rachel Kyte, Rohini Pande, Jayant Sinha Moderator: N. K. Singh

Highlight: “Cost of inaction” vs. “Cost of action” — The long-term economic and humanitarian costs of failing to address climate change are far greater than the massive investments required for the energy transition.

11. Heart of the Seas: The Future of the Indian Ocean

Speakers: Barry Faure, Dhananjay Ramful, Vijitha Herath, Marise Payne, S. Jaishankar Moderator: Palki Sharma

Highlight: “Net security provider” vs. “Active neutrality” — India is increasingly adopting a proactive leadership role in the Indian Ocean through naval cooperation, institutional partnerships, and development initiatives.

12. Risks, Rivalries and Resilience: Crafting a New Economic Security

Speakers: V. Anantha Nageswaran, Tadashi Maeda, Noah Barkin, Hayden Allan, Stormy-Annika Mildner Moderator: Valbona Zeneli

Highlight: “Security of the economy” vs. “Security through economic means” — Economic interdependence is increasingly being used strategically by states as a tool of geopolitical influence.

13. In Conversation with CM Chandrababu Naidu

Speakers: Chandrababu Naidu Moderator: Samir Saran

Highlight: Indian states are increasingly acting as diplomatic actors by attracting global value chains and creating ecosystems that support high-technology entrepreneurship.

14. The Era of Diffusion: From Silicon to Scale

Speakers: Abhishek Singh, Adam Segal, Laura Mahrenbach, Ravi Bapna, William Mark Moderator: Louise Marie Hurel

Highlight: Diffusion vs. Resource Monopoly — No single nation should monopolise critical AI layers. AI development resembles the pharmaceutical sector, requiring government support, appropriate infrastructure, and enabling policy frameworks.

15. Clean Energy as Statecraft: Powering Viksit Bharat 2047

Speakers: Bjorn Lomborg, Sunjoy Joshi, David Victor, Kira Vinke, Nikit Abhyankar Moderator: Gopalika Arora

Highlight: “Energy is prosperity” — While critics argue that net-zero targets are prohibitively expensive, evidence increasingly shows that renewable energy paired with storage can already be cheaper than building new coal capacity in India.

16. Convergence Before Consensus: The Inadvertent Coalitions Shaping Global Order

Speakers: Vikram Misri, Stephen Harper, Comfort Ero, Leslie Vinjamuri, Philippe Varin Moderator: Samir Saran

Highlight: “Shared values” vs. “Values to gain” — Global diplomacy is shifting away from alignment based solely on shared ideological values toward pragmatic cooperation based on mutual benefits.

My Overarching Thoughts from Raisina Dialogue 2026

  • Nations are increasingly defining relationships based on the value gained from partnerships rather than shared values, while still preserving their strategic autonomy and sovereignty.

  • BRICS must move faster toward concrete actions, investing more and cooperating more deeply in areas such as financial resilience, energy procurement, innovation, and technology transfer to address the needs of developing economies.

  • The digital economy is reshaping labour mobility, addresses challenge to political concerns with physical mobility and is expanding financial access for women, enabling greater economic integration and resilience.

  • The evolving technopolar world requires education credentials that transcend national borders, stronger linkages between food security, data governance, and democratic institutions, and the sharing of AI resources to prevent monopolistic concentration.

  • AI should be viewed primarily as a tool to augment human intellect, improving productivity and enabling the solution of complex problems.

  • Climate change mitigation requires massive investment, but the economic and humanitarian costs of inaction justify this transition. A practical approach involves maintaining a short-term mix of renewable and fossil energy, while gradually transitioning toward a fully renewable and cost-efficient energy system in the long term.

Thank You !

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