New Delhi, India
Biruni Institute as an emerging think tank from Afghanistan is expanding its regional ties. As part of this effort, a delegation from the Institute attends a week-long program in India, meeting a number of prominent South Asian and Indian policy research think tanks in New Delhi. The week-long program was sponsored by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: Office for South and South-West Asia (ESCAP-SSWA).
The program brought together think tanks from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, and provided a great opportunity for the Biruni Institute to take a note of best regional practices in think tank management, and their different operational modalities. The meetings included the following:
• A successful workshop at UNESCAP on “Strengthening Policy Analysis in Support of Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals”
• Visiting and meeting the leadership of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), India.
• Interaction and exchange with Dr. Selim Raihan, Director, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Bangladesh.
• Interaction and exchange with Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, Chairman, South Asia Watch on Trade Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal.
• Visiting and meeting leadership of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India.
• Interaction and exchange with Dr. Dushni Weerakoon, Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Sri Lanka.
• Visiting and meeting the leadership of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) is a New Dew.
• Interaction and exchange with the Head of ‘Centre for WTO Studies’, India.
• Interaction and exchange with the Head of ‘Centre for Trade and Investment Law’, India.
India has the world’s second largest number of think tanks, with most of them being based in New Delhi, including those supported by the Government. In many countries around the world, national or government-affiliated think tanks provide huge support to their governments in the formulation and assessment of policies. Think Tanks play a multifaceted role and carry out diverse activities from conducting evidence-based research to advocacy, providing advisory services, organizing capacity-building programs, and creating an environment for open dialogue on policy issues.
