Discussions
On Tuesday 29th July 2025, the Geopolitical Cartographer hosted a moderated discussion on ‘Lessons for the Indian Ocean Region from East Asa’. The Discussion took place at the Grand Crystal Ballroom of the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka and was moderated by Executive Director, Rishan de Silva. It included:
- Geopolitical Cartographer President Ranil Wickremesinghe;
- Former Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry;
- Prof. Kishore Mahbubani
On Tuesday 22nd July 2025, the Geopolitical Cartographer hosted a hybrid discussion on ‘Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean’. The Discussion was moderated by Board Member, Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja and took place at the Emerald Ballroom of the Courtyard Hotel by Marriott in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Discussion featured presentations by:
- Geopolitical Cartographer President Ranil Wickremesinghe;
- High Commissioner of Australia to Sri Lanka, Paul Stephens;
- High Commissioner of South Africa to Sri Lanka, Sandile Schalk;
- Geopolitical Cartographer Board Member; Chitranganee Wagiswara –
- James Jay Carafano, Senior Counsel to the President, The Heritage Foundation, U.S.A (online);
- Ashok Kantha, Distinguished Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, India (online);
- Fyodor Lukyanov, Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, Russia (online)
On June 18th 2025, as part of the business programme of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2025, the Valdai Club held a roundtable discussion titled “Sustainability in a World of Uncertainty: Universal Security Through Stronger States”. The Valdai session was the second instalment of a broader discussion of the origins and methods of ensuring security in the modern world, in particular, how individual states can ensure internal sustainability as the main prerequisite for their own security. It continued the discussion of security through the lens of individual perspectives, which was the topic of the roundtable to be held by Valdai in St. Petersburg the day before, on June 17, 2025.
On June 17th 2025, the Valdai Discussion Club held a roundtable in Saint Petersburg, in the run-up to SPIEF, titled “Homo Perplexus: How to Stop Fearing and Learn to Love Change”. The participants of the first session discussed, the boundary between external and internal dynamics is nearly erased – global shocks reverberate as socio-political instability within nations. The best defence against external turbulence is domestic social harmony. But how can it be achieved? How do we strike a constructive balance amid contradictory forces?
The Discussion was moderated by Fyodr Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club and included:
- Oksana Sinyavskaya;
- Binod Chaudhary, Nepal Chapter, Geopolitical Cartographer
- Dmitry Efremenko,
- Vyacheslav Rybakov
On June 17th 2025, the Valdai Discussion Club held a roundtable in Saint Petersburg, in the run-up to SPIEF, titled “Homo Perplexus: How to Stop Fearing and Learn to Love Change”. The Second session was on Artificial intelligence. The more we learn, the stronger the sense that its evolution will not just transform our lives but may relegate human abilities to the fringes of history. But how accurate is this fear? Where must humans compromise, and where will technology never replace them? Should we fear AI?
The Discussion was moderated by Fyodr Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club and included:
- Ivan Danilin,
- Vineet Kumar,
- Anna Sytnik,
- Rishan de Silva, Executive Director, Geopolitical Cartographer;
On June 17th 2025, the Valdai Discussion Club held a roundtable in Saint Petersburg, in the run-up to SPIEF, titled “Homo Perplexus: How to Stop Fearing and Learn to Love Change”. The participants of the first session discussed, whether the state is capable of pursuing policy without strategy and whether tactics can be made strategic in an era of dramatic change.
The Discussion was moderated by Fyodr Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club and included:
- Ranil Wickremesinghe, Founder of the Geopolitical Cartographer, President of Sri Lanka (2022-2024);
- Feng Wei, Vice-Chairman of the China Institutes of Innovation and Development Strategy (China);
- Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman, Valdai Discussion Club
On Friday, 30th May 2025, the Geopolitical Cartographer collaborated with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to host a Closed Door Session titled ‘Geopolitical Cartography of the Indian Ocean and the Himalayas’, which was held at the Boardroom of Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the NUS in Singapore. The Event was attended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and Private Sector Business leaders including the Chamber of Indian Industry. This event took place on the sidelines of the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue:
- The Guest Speaker was the Geopolitical Cartographer Patron and President, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was received by Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, former Secretary General of ASEAN and Executive Deputy Chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
- The Event featured opening remarks and an interactive session with Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea, Director of the ISAS
On May 10th 2025, The Founder, Patron, and President of the Geopolitical Cartographer, Ranil Wickremesinghe, engaged in a discussion titled “In the Hood: The New Forces Shaping Subcontinental Geopolitics” for the Hindu Huddle, in Bangalore, India.
The Discussion was moderated by Ms. Suhasini Haider, Diplomatic Affairs Editor of The Hindu and featured:
- Ranil Wickremesinghe, Former President of Sri Lanka,
- T.S. Tirumurti, Former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nation, New York
On March 5th 2025, the Embassy of Japan collaborated with the Geopolitical Cartographer, Sri Lanka Navy, and UNODC on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Workshop. This included an engaging Panel Discussion titled “Enhancing Maritime Domain Awareness in the Indian Ocean Region” moderated by Rear Admiral Jagath Ranasinghe (Retd.), Board Member, and included:
- LCdr. (N) KR Thalaga, NRX 3023, Sri Lanka Navy
- Major Azim Shareef, Head of Military Instructions Department, College of Defence and Security Studies, MNDF
- Captain Rezaur Rahman, Bangladesh Navy
- Dr. Nivedita Ray, Director (Research), Indian Council of World Affairs (IORAG Member), India
On 21st August 2024, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated with the Geopolitical Cartographer to host an inaugural ‘Central Asia Forum’ at the Granbell Hotel Colombo.
The Evening Panel discussion on “Central Asia in Focus” was moderated by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Board Member of the Geopolitical Cartographer, and featured:
- Ambassador Doulat Kuanyshev, Expert, Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Secretariat
- Mr Darkhan Seitenov, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Republic of Kazakhstan in New Delhi, India
- Mr. Krishan Thilakaratne, LOLC Central Asia
- Mr. Duminda Hulangamuwa, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
On 21st August 2024, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated with the Geopolitical Cartographer to host an inaugural ‘Central Asia Forum’ at the Granbell Hotel Colombo.
The Morning Session featured a ‘Round Table’ discussion on the “Strategic Role of Central Asia in Eurasia and Beyond: The Emergence of New Transport and Logistics Corridors” moderated by Mr. Erik Solheim, International Advisory Council Member of the Geopolitical Cartographer, and featured:
- Ambassador Doulat Kuanyshev, Expert, Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Secretariat
- Mr Darkhan Seitenov, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Republic of Kazakhstan in New Delhi, India
- Mr Ravinatha Aryasinha, Executive Director, The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI)
- Ms. Sashikala Premawardhane, Director General, Southeast and Central Asia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
- Mr. Uditha Devapriya, Chief Analyst, International Relations/Factum
On 19th July 2024, Hon. Scott Morrison, the 30th Prime Minister of Australia, engaged in a moderated discussion with Geopolitical Cartographer Co-Patron, Mohamed Nasheed, Fmr. President of the Maldives, at the Grand Crystal Ballroom of the Taj Samudra Hotel, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
On 7th June 2024, the Geopolitical Cartographer hosted a roundtable discussion at the Geopolitical Cartographer, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka. The discussion included:
- Dr. David Brewster, Member, and National Security College of ANU
- Dr. Lailufar Yasmin, Chair of International Relations, Dhaka University
- Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Deputy High Commissioner from India
- Mr. Heru Prayitno, DCM and Minister Counsellor from Indonesia, and Dita
- Mr. Arthit Prasartkul, DCM and Minister Counsellor from Thailand
- Md. Reyad Hossain, Counsellor (Political) from Bangladesh
- Ms. Chathurika, Representative from the High Commission of Australia
- Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Kotelawala Defence University
- Members of the Geopolitical Cartographer
On March 21st 2024, a Panel Discussion was held titled ‘Economic Development and Modernization with Lessons from Japan’ at the Granbell Hotel, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Panel was moderated by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja of the Geopolitical Cartographer. The Panel included:
- H.E. Hideaki Mizukoshi, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka
- Ms. Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP, Sri Lanka
- Senior Prof. H. D. Karunaratne, Vice Chancellor, University of Colombo
On 18th September 2023, the Geopolitical Cartographer facilitated an invitation for the Patron, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, to address The Ocean Nations: The 3rd Annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue in New York City, organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Tokyo). Hosted on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly, the Islands Dialogue is the flagship event for Carnegie’s Indian Ocean Initiative.
The Patron engaged in a conversation with Mr. Dan Baer, Carnegie Executive Vice President, on Srilanka’s’ views, priorities, and challenges at the Japan Society in New York.
On 12th September 2023, a discussion of the Geopolitical Cartographer titled ‘Recent High Level Visits and their Indian Ocean Aspects’ took place at the Courtyard Hotel by Marriott, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka, it was moderated by Foreign Secretary Ms. Aruni Wijewardane. The participants were as follows:
- Sagala Ratnayaka, Chief of Staff to President
- High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay
- Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong
- Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka, Jean-François Pactet
- Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, Hideaki Mizukoshi
On 23rd August 2023, a discussion was held by the Thai Embassy in collaboration with the Geopolitical Cartographer titled titled ‘Revisiting Southeast Asia Links: Suvarnabhumi Tambralinga and Tambapanni’ at the ‘Siam Nivasa’ No. 43, CWW Kannangara Mawatha, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. The Lecture was delivered by Dr. Banchar Pongpanich, Thailand’s Ancient Beads Expert and Collector.
The Discussion was preceded with opening remarks by:
H.E. Poj Hampol – Outgoing Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka
Ms. Kshenuka Seneviratne, SAC Member of the Geopolitical Cartographer
On 20th June 2023, the Geopolitical Cartographer facilitated a ‘Fireside Chat’ between the President of Sri Lanka, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, Chairman of the International Democratic Union (IDU).
The Discussion took place at the 40th Anniversary of the IDU, at Church House in Westminster, London.
On March 28th 2023, a Panel Discussion was held titled ‘Uniting for a Greener World: The Role of International Cooperation in Protecting the Environment’ at the BMICH, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Panel was moderated by Rear Admiral Jagath Ranasinghe (Retd.) of the Geopolitical Cartographer.
The Panel included:
Mr. Erik Solheim, the Sixth and Former United Nations (UN) Environment Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the UN, and former Minister of the Environment for Norway
Mrs. Thilaka Jayasundera, Secretary to the Ministry of Industries
Dr. Matthew McCartney, Principal Researcher of the International Water Management Institute
On 3rd February 2023, the Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, discussed the Polycrisis in the Indian Ocean Region and the role of the Commonwealth, at the Inaugural Lecture of the Geopolitical Cartographer at the Courtyard Hotel by Marriot, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja of the Geopolitical Cartographer.
The additional questions were posed by:
Niranjan de Silva Deva Aditya
Ravana Wijeratne