Pune: A two-day conference, ‘Shaping a New Strategic Culture for India’ took off at the Lavale Campus of Symbiosis International (Deemed University) in Pune on Friday. It is the Symbiosis School of International Studies’ (SSIS) sixth edition of International Relations Conference (IRC).

Indian Council for Cultural Relations President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the chief guest, will  deliver his address by video conferencing at the special session being held on Saturday.
 
The conference has ministers, diplomats, corporate leaders, academics, members of civil society organisations, NGOs and media professionals from India and abroad, to deliberate on the myriad aspects of India’s strategic culture which includes issues related to history, geopolitics, security and civilisational linkages, among others.

The conference is supported by the Union Ministry of External Affairs. External Affairs Secretary Vijay Gokhale will deliver the keynote address at the same session. Founder and Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) Dr SB Mujumdar, Pro-Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) and Principal Director (Symbiosis Society) Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Vice-Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) Dr Rajani Gupte and other dignitaries will be present at the session.

Speakers include dignitaries like former Foreign Secretaries Ranjan Mathai and Srimati Sujatha Singh, former Secretary Sanjay Singh, Convener, National Security Advisory Board, PS Raghavan, former Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce; Didar Singh, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Shakti Sinha, Head, Political Affairs at the Delegation of the European Union to India, Ms Friederike Tschampa, Director, Observer Research Foundation, Prof Harsh V Pant, and Lecturer, University of Heidelberg, Germany, Dr Michale Liebig.