23 March 2015 - The Philippines participated in the 7th annual Delhi Dialogue (DD VII) on March 11 to 12. This year’s theme was “ASEAN-India: Shaping the Post 2015 Agenda.” Political leaders, policy makers, senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, think tanks and academics from India and ASEAN countries came together for the two-day event. The Philippine delegation to the DD VII was headed by Commision on Higher Education (CHED) Executive Director Atty. Julito Vitriolo.
The Delhi Dialogue, first held in 2009, is an annual Track 1.5 forum for discussing political and security as well as economic issues between ASEAN and India. DD VII was organized by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in cooperation with various agencies and think tanks from India and ASEAN countries. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj delivered the keynote address during the inaugural session.
Among the notable panel discussions held during the event were on “Building Connectivity between India and ASEAN” and “Future Direction on India-ASEAN Strategic Partnership.” The dialogue also featured a dedicated Business Session where the ASEAN Economic Community was discussed. The Indian government’s “Make in India” campaign was also presented.
Atty. Vitriolo was the lead panelist in the discussion on socio-cultural issues, where he highlighted that contacts established in the level of people-to-people were as important as those made during exchanges of business delegations. END