Building Stronger Defense Ties

The Defense News Conclave Project, supported by the U.S. Consulate General Kolkata, offered capacity-building workshops and networking opportunities for experts, journalists and academics. (Photograph courtesy Ritu Sharma)

The Defense News Conclave Project, supported by the U.S. Consulate General Kolkata, the U.S. State Department and CUTS International, organized five workshops in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai and New Delhi. These capacity-building workshops, held in 2023-24, brought together experts, journalists, academics and other media professionals.

Free-flowing interaction

For both Ritu Sharma and Syeda Afshana, participants in the workshop held in Jaipur, the platform provided networking and interaction opportunities with experts. These experts offered insights into the U.S.-India defense and security partnerships and their relevance to the Indo-Pacific region.

Afshana, a professor at the Media Education Research Centre (MERC), University of Kashmir, specializing in international relations and conflict studies, found the program “exceptionally insightful. She highlighted “the significance of the U.S.-India strategic partnership through discussions on strengthening ties, particularly in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.”

Afshana says the workshop promoted “valuable connections with experts and officials” who offered a holistic understanding of the defense and security partnerships between the United States and India. “The sessions emphasized our shared commitment to addressing global challenges beyond traditional defense matters,” she adds.

The interactions from the workshops profoundly influence Afshana’s work as a journalism professor. Conversations about internet security and advocacy, engagement with the diaspora to strengthen the U.S.-India relationship, and defense partnerships for humanitarian assistance offer her journalism classes global perspectives. For example, she explains that incorporating digital security narratives will ensure students grasp the evolving online journalism landscape. “Encouraging critical analysis, inspired by insights from the conclave, will equip students to assess defense partnerships accurately for balanced news coverage,” she adds.

Sharma, a journalist with Eurasian Times specializing in defense and foreign affairs, said the workshop provided her with a valuable opportunity to network with experts who offered a “360-degree overview of the U.S-India relationship.” This, she says, offers more context to her reporting. “For example, while writing about maintenance hubs being started in India for U.S. warships or U.S. Navy vessels, I now understand the relevance and background,” she explains. “It makes my story more integrated and interesting. The workshop has given me a more layered and nuanced understanding of the relationship.”

Sharma says she also made some valuable connections at the workshop that helped her understand the extent of the strategic collaboration between the United States and India. “There are so many areas of the partnership between the United States and India, that it becomes difficult to categorize projects. It was great to have everyone on one platform,” she shares.

Building trust

Afshana feels such workshops and interactions with defense and media professionals allow better communication to ensure accurate reporting, and promote public understanding and support for defense initiatives. “Informed media coverage creates transparency and trust,” she explains. “When such platforms engage with media professionals to explain defense complexities, they make way for accurate public communication, and encourage policymakers to prioritize and strengthen defense ties.”

As a journalist, Sharma believes the conversations at the workshop allowed her to view the U.S.-India relationship more comprehensively. “One thing that I learned was that the United States and India have come a long way in their relationship,” she says. “In spite of the roadblocks, I realized, speakers were pragmatic about the ties between the two countries,” Sharma explains. “We can overlook the roadblocks and focus on the bigger picture that the United States and India need each other and are equal partners in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Click here to sign up for the free SPAN newsletter: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSPAN