Ministry of External Affairs Government of India

Ministry of External Affairs organized the fourth edition of the Annual Disarmament and International Security Fellowship Programme at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service from 22 January – 9 February 2024. At the valedictory ceremony held today, Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra addressed the young diplomats from 24 countries from across the world who participated in the fellowship programme. Earlier on 22 January at the inauguration ceremony, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu delivered inaugural remarks via a recorded video message. On 5 February, the participants called on External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.

2.​ The three-week fellowship programme featured talks, presentations and simulation exercises by leading experts on a range of subjects such as the global security environment, weapons of mass destruction, certain conventional weapons, space security, security of cyberspace, export controls, and emerging technologies. It included field visits to facilities of Department of Atomic Energy of India and Indian Space Research Organization so that fellows could have an exposure to India’s civil nuclear and civil space programmes. The participants also visited other institutions such as Election Commission of India, National Institute of Solar Energy and International Solar Alliance Secretariat, and Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region.

3.​ The fellowship programme aims at equipping participants with knowledge and perspectives on issues related to contemporary disarmament, non-proliferation, arms control and international security affairs, and familiarizing them with India and aspects of India’s foreign policy. It also fulfils the mandate of UN General Assembly resolution "United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education”. The first, second and third editions of the programme were held in January 2019, 2020 and 2023 respectively.

New Delhi
February 09, 2024