Chief Executive to the Wilton Park, Mr Richard Burge, called on Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta, on May 2, 2013. Mr Burge enquired about the activities of the IDSA and explored the prospect of joint conferences in India on defence and security issues. He assured to offer suggestions.

Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta, attended a meeting with the Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mrs Meira Kumar on April 25, 2013. The meeting was a part of a series of consultations initiated by Mrs Kumar with various stakeholders to seek new ideas and suggestions for strengthening the Indian parliamentary system. The focus of the discussion was the state of education in India. Dr Gupta drew attention towards the increasing role of strategic think tanks in generating ideas on foreign policy and security issues.

Chief Executive Officer, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Dr Peter Witterauf along with the Head of Division, South/Southeast Asia, Mr Hanns Buhler, paid a courtesy call on Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta on April 17, 2013. The Hanns Seidel Foundation is one of Germany’s largest foundations associated with the Christian Social Union. The officials discussed the prospects of cooperation between the academy and the IDSA on strategic issues.

The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) organised a Round Table discussion with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) on April 8, 2013. The Round Table provided a good opportunity for a frank exchange of views on India-Vietnam relations, India-ASEAN relations, rise of China, and maritime issues in the South China Sea. It was pointed out that while India and Vietnam have had long-standing friendship there was a need to add new content to this cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral level (particularly in the economic and strategic spheres).

Vietnamese Ambassador to India, HE Mr Nguyen Thanh Tan called on Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta on March 19, 2013. The meeting was in connection with the visit of a Vietnamese delegation to IDSA on April 8, 2013.

Director, Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Lieutenant General, USAF (Retd) Dan “Fig” Leaf met Deputy Director General, IDSA, Brig Rumel Dahiya SM (Retd) on March 19 2013.

Minister Counsellor for Public Affairs, the American Embassy in New Delhi, Mr Walter Douglas, called on Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta on March 13, 2013. They discussed the possibilities of enhancing academic engagement between IDSA and US based think tanks and scholars. Dr G Balachandran, Consultant, IDSA, was also present during the discussion.

Mr Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, former Adviser to Hillary Clinton, during her tenure as Secretary of State, US, called on Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta, on March 6, 2013, and discussed the relevance of IBSA. Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Ruchita Beri was also present during the discussion.

Prof Radhakrishnan Pillai from the Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership, Department of Philosophy, Bombay University, visited IDSA along with a batch of his students on March 6, 2013.

Joint Secretary (E&SA), Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Ravi Bangar, met Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta, on February 19, 2013. Shri Bangar discussed IDSA’s activities pertaining to Africa. Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Ruchita Beri was also present during the discussion. The IDSA-MEA projects on Africa were discussed.