On 2 February 2015, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) held its third conference on enhancing bilateral trade between India and Pakistan. Ambassador Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House was invited as a panelist to discuss the prospects and challenges of normalising relations and in turn trade between the two countries. Other panelists included Nisha Taneja, Professor, ICRIER; Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for Social Development, New Delhi; Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI, Pakistan; S. Akbar Zaidi, Political Economist, Karachi; and S. A. Hasnain, Visiting Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi.
ICRIER is an autonomous, policy-oriented, not-for-profit, economic policy think tank. ICRIER’s main focus is to enhance the knowledge content of policy making by undertaking analytical research that is targeted at informing India’s policy makers and also at improving the interface with the global economy.
Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House was a panelist for the session ‘Dealing with India’s neighbours’. A distinguished diplomat, Neelam has been the Indian Ambassador to Denmark and Ivory Coast with concurrent accreditation to several West African countries. She has also served in Indian embassies in Washington D.C., Bangkok and Rome. Her last assignment was as Consul General in New York. Her most challenging mission was liaising with the U.S. congress on strategic issues in Washington DC.