Defence preparedness must be aligned with economic strength, foreign policy objectives: Gen Malik

Chandigarh: Former COAS General Ved Prakash Malik and former Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu addressed the inaugural session of a two-day national seminar on "Mapping India's Foreign Policy in the Emerging Geo-Political Dynamics" organised by the Department of Defence and National Security Studies, Panjab University, in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs.Prof Jaskaran Singh Waraich, chairperson of the department, welcomed the guests and introduced the theme, highlighting the need to assess India's foreign policy amid changing global power equations. Dr Teshu Singh, research fellow at ICWA, spoke about the importance of stronger academic-policy linkages in analysing India's expanding global engagements.
In his address, Gen Malik emphasised that defence preparedness must be aligned with economic strength and foreign policy objectives, and called for effective civil-military coordination as India assumes wider regional and global responsibilities. Sandhu, in his keynote address, described India as a key partner for the United States in ensuring stability in the Indo-Pacific and said international relations are being reconfigured rather than weakened. He underlined the need for sustained institutional, manufacturing and technological capacity building.Vice-chancellor Prof Renu Vig said India's foreign policy is moving from the ideological framework of non-alignment to a more pragmatic and interest-driven approach.The first technical session was chaired by Prof Paru Bal Sidhu and co-chaired by Prof Monica Munjial Singh. Col D Padma Kumar Pillay, SC (retd), Manoj Kumar, IAS (retd), Maj Gen P S Bhatti, VSM, and Dr Manjot Kaur spoke on diaspora diplomacy, defence engagement and regional narratives.The second session, chaired by Prof Kamal Kinger and co-chaired by Prof Kumool Abbi, featured Air Cmde Kamal Bagga (retd), Lt Gen Jagbir Singh Cheema (retd), Maj Gen J S Nanda (retd) and Prof Karori Singh, who discussed defence self-reliance, developments in Bangladesh and India's diplomatic recalibrations in an emerging multipolar order.