February 27, 2018
Dear Valued Member of the Press,
Thank you for your continued interest in and engagement with Mumbai’s premier foreign policy think tank.
On March 12-13, 2018, Gateway House and the Ministry of External Affairs will co-host the third edition of The Gateway of India Geoeconomic Dialogue: Where geopolitics meets business, at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. The conference will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 12 March at 6pm. The next day, a series of conversations and panel discussions with ministers, policy makers, financiers and geoeconomics experts will discuss subjects vital to India and to the new economic era – financialisation, trade in services, Indo-China economic diplomacy, the continuing relevance of the G20, the business of the blue economy and technology’s impact on legislative frameworks.
The schedule is given below.
This is India’s premier geoeconomics conference, and Mumbai’s only major geopolitical exposition, focused on harmonising diplomatic relations with business exchanges.
The objective is to institute an annual, signature event that drills deeply into the inseparability of business and foreign policy, in line with our government’s new emphasis on economic diplomacy, and set in the unique context of Mumbai’s international links, past and present. By holding this forum in Mumbai, our government bolsters its position as India’s – and the region’s – commercial and financial capital, and acknowledges the role of corporate India in expanding the country’s global engagement.
The first two editions of the conference have seen participation of Indian and international political and business leaders, with over 600 delegates and 50 expert panelists from 20 countries in attendance. Seven top officials, including four Indian ministers, have also been part of the sessions.
Please convey your acceptance of this invitation at the earliest to ensure your confirmed participation. All queries may be directed to Sakina Mamuwala atdialogue@gatewayhouse.in.
We look forward to your participation at this exciting moment of the India story.
Sincerely,
Manjeet Kirpalani and Neelam Deo
Directors and Co-founders,
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Mumbai
The Gateway of India Geoeconomics Dialogue
Where Geopolitics meets Business
March 12-13, 2018 | Mumbai
Co-hosted by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India & Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, Mumbai
Venue: Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai
12 March, 2018 | Monday
6.00pm – 6.15pm | Welcome Address
Hon’ble Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Topic: Mumbai, the Gateway to a Modernising India
6.30pm – 6.45pm | Opening Address
Hon’ble Urve Palo, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, Republic of Estonia
13 March, 2018 | Tuesday
8.00am – 8.45am | Registration
9.00am – 10.00am | Session One | Breakfast Dialogue
Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, in conversation with
Richard Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations, New York
Topic: India and the United States in a Changing Asia
10.00am – 11.30am | Session Two | Geoeconomic Dialogue I
Opening Keynote | Subhash Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
Panel Discussion | Moderator: K.N. Vaidyanathan, Senior Geoeconomics Fellow, Gateway House; Chief Risk Officer, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mumbai
Topic: Financialisation: re-shaping the global financial architecture?
Financialisation of economies, once admired, has distorted the productive economy of nations, and led to political and social regression in developed countries and some emerging markets. There is now a global effort to temper financial liberalization. What are the circuit-breakers put in place to prevent such crises? How can new financial innovations be redirected toward the real economy? Can prudent countries like India offer a different model?
Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Governor, Bank Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Subhash Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
David Rasquinha, Managing Director, EXIM Bank, Mumbai
Eric Ben-Artzi, Partner, J & B Consulting, Tel Aviv, Israel
Claude Lopez, Director, International Finance and Macroeconomics Research, Milken Institute
Kiran Shetty, CEO, SWIFT India
11.30am – 11.45am | Keynote Address
Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, New Delhi
Topic: New India @ 2022
11.45am – 12.00pm | Coffee Break
12.00pm – 1.30pm | Session Three | Geoeconomic Dialogue II
Panel Discussion | Moderator: Andrew Crosby, Managing Director, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ITCSD), Geneva
Topic: The Future is Trade In Services
The new era of trade is here, and it is about services. Unlike goods, which have cross-border controls and regulations like tariffs, services move across borders with ease, aided by new technologies. It has opened a new era of trade, one that caters to small entrepreneurs and newly exportable businesses. What are the creative regulatory policies, both domestic and global, needed for trade in services to flourish? What is the global framework needed to reflect the priorities of each country?
J.S Deepak, Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organization, Geneva
Hector Torrez, Senior Fellow, International Law & Research Programme, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Canada
Pascal Kerneis, Managing Director, European Services Forum, Brussels
Patrick Low, AsiaGlobal Fellows Program Director, Asia Global Institute, Hong Kong
Juma Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary, Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy, UAE*
1.30pm – 2.30pm | Lunch
2.30pm – 3.45pm | Session Four | Geoeconomic Dialogue III
Panel Discussion | Moderator: Indira Ravindran, Adjunct Fellow, China Studies, Gateway House
Topic: Engaging China, the geoeconomic giant
China’s journey to economic giant status has gathered pace. On the way it has sharpened it’s kit of geoeconomic tools including state-owned enterprises, private companies with digital, financial and manufacturing prowess, multinationals both Chinese and foreign, multilateral institutions, think tanks and universities. Together, these are powering China’s market dominance and economic statecraft. How can developing and developed countries alike engage and compete successfully with this formidable combination?
Prakash Menon, President, Global Retail Business, NIIT Ltd., Shanghai
Ryan Manuel, Director of Policy & Research, Asia Global Institute, Hong Kong
Toshinori Doi, President, Policy Research Institute, Japan
3.45 pm – 5.00 pm | Session Five | Geoeconomic Dialogue IV
Panel Discussion | Moderator: Akshay Mathur, Fellow, Geoeconomics Studies and Director of Research and Analysis, Gateway House
Topic: G20: more than a talk-shop
The G20 is facing a mid-life crisis. Its limited economic agenda has expanded to security and sustainable development, making it unwieldy and less effective. Should it reconfigure its agenda? What of its original mandate, of keeping the world safe from economic crises? Can the forum still retain its title of the economic steering committee of the world?
Pedro Villagra Delgado, Argentina’s G20 Sherpa, former Deputy Foreign Minister, Argentina
Heribert Dieter, Senior Research Associate, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin
Guven Sak, Managing Director, TEPAV, Turkey
Claude Smadja, President, Smadja & Smadja Strategic Advisory, Geneva
Sir Danny Alexander, Vice President, Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank, Shanghai
Amar Bhattacharya, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.
5.00pm – 6.15pm | Session Six | Strategic Dialogue
Opening Keynote | Ambassador Nomvuyo N. Nokwe, Secretary General, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius
Panel Discussion | Moderator: Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House
Topic: The Business of the Blue Economy
The Blue Economy considers the reserves of the oceans and rivers as a leverageable economic resource within the accepted framework of sustainable development, and the necessity for desired regional and international cooperation. Business sees the opportunity – but so does geopolitics. The economic imperative of the open seas is coming into direct contestation with the strategic and security imperative of nations. How are businesses and policy-makers responding?
Ambassador K.V. Bhagirath, former Secretary General, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius
Cyrus Rustomjee, Senior Fellow, Global Economy Program, Centre for International Governance Innovation
Douglas McCauley, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.*
6.15pm – 6.30pm | High Tea
6.30pm – 7.45pm | Session Seven | Technology Dialogue
Panel Discussion | Moderator: Susan Ritchie, Vice President, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, U.S. – India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)
Topic: Technology up-ends existing legislative frameworks
Artificial intelligence. Unmanned military and commercial systems. Alternate virtual universe. Advanced cyber crimes. These frontier technologies are transforming existing business models and security architecture. And they are operating outside known legal and regulatory frameworks. What legislations need to be crafted to accommodate these innovations and how can they be enforced?
Deborah Housen-Couriel, Former member, Director-General’s Bureau, Israel Ministry of Communications; Fellow, Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, Tel Aviv University
Marina Kaljurand, Chair, Global Commission on Stability of Cyberspace, Brussels
Kevin Cuddy, Senior Manager, International Trade Compliance, General Electric; Trade, Technology, and Security Fellow, Stimson Center
Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India, New Delhi*
7.45pm – 8.00pm | Closing Keynote
Ram Madhav, National General Secretary, BJP*
Topic: Courting the new Indian voter
This is a tentative schedule and may change.
* – To Be Confirmed