From 3 to 4 June 2025, Him Rotha, Deputy Director, CCRS attended Conference on Global South and Triangular Cooperation in New Delhi, India organized by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
The concept of Triangular Cooperation was discussed among Indian scholars, stressing on the need to enhance multi-layered and multiplex cooperation among developing countries and between developed and developing countries as well as the needs to empower the roles of non-state actors, like civil society, NGOs, and think tanks.
The conference was opened and presided by the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña during his visit to India. President Santiago Peña highlighted the need to strengthen solidarity among Global South countries and urged to have an equal footing of engagement between the North and South countries.
CCRS Deputy Director, Him Rotha also made a speech in the High-Level Panel on Bandung and Beyond – Collective Will and Collective Action, where he presented on the relevance of the Spirit of Bandung Declaration 1955 to the current contemporary context. He highlighted three main points, namely, (1) the respect of sovereignty and equality of states regardless of size or mighty power; (2) the platforms for peaceful coexistence between small states and major powers; (3) the avenue of cooperation on mutual interests. Other than that, he emphasized on the need to uphold multilateralism and the principle of international laws, especially in the context of the transition of international order. Furthermore, he suggested that with the intensification of global powers’ competition, to navigate this complexity, small states need to strengthen domestic resilient and preserve their strategic autonomy.
At the sideline of the conference, he had a bilateral meeting with Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS. In that meeting, Prof. Chaturvedi and CCRS Deputy Director discussed on issues of common concerns related to India and Southeast Asia relations. They also talked on ways forward to establish the collaboration between CCRS and RIS.
