20 January 2017 – Director-General Claro S. Cristobal of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) together with Ambassador Ma. Teresita C. Daza, Col. Raymundo R. Acorda of Philippine Defense and Armed Forces Attaché and Embassy Attachés participated in the 2nd Edition of Raisina Dialogue with the theme: “The New Normal: Multilateralism with Multipolarity”. The Dialogue was organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs at Taj Palace, New Delhi on 17 to 19 January 2017. The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship geo-political conference. While the first edition in 2016 involved about 40 countries with 120 foreign participants, this 2nd edition saw 65 countries and more than 250 foreign delegates participating in a number of panels, including some concurrent ones, organized across a range of sub-themes. Political leaders, diplomats, senior generals and admirals, strategic experts and thinkers also made presentations during the three day event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Raisina Dialogue on 17 January 2017 where he expressed continued belief in older trains of Indian foreign policy thought that saw a multipolar world as a just and desirable outcome. He took the opportunity to call for a “security architecture” in Asia that is “open, transparent, balanced, and inclusive” and that is “rooted in international norms and respect for sovereignty.” Director-General Claro S. Cristobal of Foreign Service Institute (FSI) was one of the speakers during the Breakout Panel 2: Indo–Pacific: Governing the Churn on 19 January 2017. He articulated the importance of the South China Sea as a vital trade route and source of oil, gas reserves and fishery resources, while raising concerns on the issues of territory, sovereignty and entitlements impacting on the areas of access and sustainability.
