Ribal Al-Assad, the Director of the ODFS, delivered a speech calling for a peaceful transition to democracy in Syria at the internationally respected Indian cultural institution, the India International Centre, to an audience of intellectuals, policy analysts and diplomats.The talk was chaired by Professor Brahma Chellaney, who is one of India’s leading strategic thinkers and analysts and a former adviser to India’s National Security Council. Distinguished guests included former Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan (formerly the Prime Minister of India’s Special Envoy for West Asia) and former Ambassador K. P. Fabian. The talk was well received and concluded with an excellent Q & A Session.

The India International Centre is one of the country’s premier cultural institutions. It is a non-government institution widely regarded as a place where statesmen, diplomats, policy makers, intellectuals, scientists, jurists, writers, artists and members of civil society meet to initiate the exchange of new ideas and knowledge in the spirit of international cooperation. Its purpose, stated in its charter, was ‘to promote understanding and amity between the different communities of the world’. In short, the Centre stands for a vision that looks at India as a place where it is possible to initiate dialogues in an atmosphere of amity and understanding.