About Shangri-La Dialogue:
- Also described as the Asia Security Summit, it is Asia’s premier defence and security summit that brings together defence ministers, military chiefs, policymakers, and strategic experts across the globe.
- Since its birth in 2002, it has developed into the most influential multilateral security exchange platform in the Asia-Pacific region.
- It is held every year in Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel.
- It is organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, UK, and co-organized by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence.
- The agenda of the Shangri-La Dialogue is closely related to the security situation and development trend in the Asia-Pacific region, covering traditional and non-traditional security and other fields.
- These include traditional security issues such as territorial disputes and military cooperation, as well as non-traditional security issues such as terrorism, cybersecurity, and climate change.
- Such agenda setting enables the dialogue to fully reflect the security challenges and cooperation needs of the Asia-Pacific region.
- The dialogue format comprises an opening keynote address by a regional head of government/head of state; on-the-record plenary sessions involving defence ministers as speakers; and on-the-record breakout sessions involving other senior officials and security practitioners.
- Opportunity is also provided for bilateral and multilateral meetings, enabling the participants to network and advance their defence diplomacy privately.
- India regularly participates at a high level, often represented by the Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Staff, or senior military officials.
- Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, is modeled on the lines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
