New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Friday said the global strategic landscape had become increasingly fragmented and contested, with conflicts raging in Europe and West Asia, supply chains being weaponised and critical technologies emerging as instruments of leverage.
Addressing VISV-2026 (VISV-2026: Vision, Innovation, Synergy, Values) organised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, Misri highlighted the changing geopolitical environment and the growing challenges to global security.
Union Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri attended the event, themed ‘Showcasing Defence Capabilities, Strengthening Global Partnerships’.
“It gives me great pleasure to join you today at the DRDO’s first outreach programme for foreign defence attaches. I, too, commend the Ministry of Defence and DRDO for this initiative,” Misri said.
Referring to the foreign defence attaches representing several friendly countries, he said they were soldiers, sailors and airmen who had, for some time, also assumed the role of diplomats.
“Your ability to read signals and build personal and institutional trust with your Indian counterparts matters as much as anything that your other colleagues in your respective missions do,” he said.
Misri expressed hope that initiatives such as VISV-2026 would broaden understanding of the evolving geopolitical environment and help countries identify opportunities for mutual benefit.
Describing the current international situation as a defining geopolitical inflection point, he said the strategic landscape was more fragmented and contested than at any point in recent memory.
“Conflicts rage in Europe and West Asia. Supply chains have been weaponised. Critical technologies have become instruments of leverage,” the Foreign Secretary said.
He also pointed to the expansion of military competition into space and the deep seas, observing that these developments were outpacing not only existing international law and policy frameworks but also diplomacy itself.
“Terrorism still threatens societies and some states still treat it as an instrument of state policy,” he said, adding that the global commons, including the seas, cyberspace and outer space, were under growing stress.
Misri further highlighted how climate instability was pushing resource scarcity towards a crisis point, underlining the need for greater international understanding and cooperation amid emerging security challenges.
Misri on defence diplomacy said, “We must build resilience, and we must build partnerships, and that is how India approaches defence diplomacy. Now, you must have heard that our foreign policy rests on strategic autonomy, the freedom to decide in our own interest guided by our own assessment.”
VISV-2026, which stands for Vision, Innovation, Synergy and Values, is DRDO’s outreach initiative aimed at showcasing India’s indigenous defence technology capabilities and strengthening engagement with friendly partner nations.
The event brings together representatives from the defence establishment, industry, academia and the diplomatic community to familiarise international partners with India’s progress in defence research, development and production, while exploring opportunities for technology-led cooperation and strategic partnerships.
The deliberations are highlighting India’s efforts to strengthen indigenous defence capabilities and expand international partnerships through technological innovation, defence production and defence diplomacy.
Through VISV-2026, DRDO aims to advance technological self-reliance while deepening international defence partnerships through innovation, dialogue and cooperation.
–IANS
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