18:00 - 19:00
19:00 - 19:15
19:15 - 21:00
Mathias Cormann
Secretary-General, OECD
Kwati Candith Mashego-Dlamini
Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
19:15 - 21:00
Two years in, COVID-19’s virulence and resurgence depends essentially on the gaps in vaccination coverage. Within countries, we see a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”; and internationally, countries with large unvaccinated populations have the potential of creating new and dangerous variants. There is a stark divide that the world must reckon with: Before the G20 summit in October 2021, it was found that G20 members had received 15 times more COVID-19 vaccine doses per capita than countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
What can be done to bridge the vaccine divide? How can nations be incentivised to urgently invest in vaccinating the underserved geographies? Are initiatives like COVAX enough, or does an IPR waiver hold the answer? Is it time to rethink investments into global health care systems? What could be the contours of a new global health agenda at the G20?
V.K. Paul
Member, NITI Aayog, India
Joan Benson
Executive Director, Public Health Partnerships, Global Vaccines Public Policy, Merck, United States
Ayoade Alakija
Co-Chair, African Union's African Vaccine Delivery Alliance; Special Envoy and Co-Chair for ACT-Accelerator, World Health Organization
Jesal Doshi
Deputy CEO, B Medical Systems, Luxembourg
Anjali Nayyar
Executive Vice President, Global Health Strategies, India
19:15 - 21:00
As clogged ports and massive delivery delays dominate global headlines, and inflation complicates the global recovery, the importance of decentralised and resilient supply chains is evident. Nations across the world seek to reconcile their crucial supply lines – whether for semiconductors or vaccines – to enhance national security and strategic autonomy. Trust has become a crucial ingredient of how groupings like the Quad and actors such as the EU, the US, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are redrawing supply chains.
Is global trade fast becoming a geopolitical flashpoint or are we likely to see the emergence of a new trading order in the aftermath of the pandemic? Will this moment of geoeconomic contestation give birth to a new and more inclusive architecture? How can these new arrangements and relationships integrate digital and green imperatives? How will energy and industrial materials that will fuel the 4IR be secured? How can we distribute the gains of this transition? Can the Indo-Pacific ensure that supply chains are not turned into weapons of war between great trading powers?
Anthony Abbott
Former Prime Minister, Australia
Shamika Ravi
Vice President, Economic Policy, Observer Research Foundation, India
Christophe Penot
Ambassador for the Indo-Pacific, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
Jeffrey Nadaner
Executive Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, SAFE, United States
Stormy-Annika Mildner
Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany, Germany
Moderator: Kaush Arha
Fellow, Atlantic Council, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, United States
21:00 - 22:30
Billion-dollar start-ups – “unicorns” – have exploded in the Indo-Pacific during the pandemic, with India alone birthing over forty new unicorns in 2021. These companies marry new technology, climate considerations, and SDG aspirations. They bridge two disparate worlds, standing between formal finance and the vast informal sectors that dominate the economies of the region.
How does the Indo-Pacific become a hub of innovation and not just a consumer of tech and products? What can be done to incentivise entrepreneurs to create businesses that are scalable? Can supporting start-ups and small enterprises lead to sustainable recovery and build resilience? Is there need for new frameworks and institutions that focus on emerging economies, and investing in businesses within underserved communities? How can the new global zeal for start-ups encourage a gender-balanced and inclusive business ecosystem?
Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Minister of State, Electronics and Information Technology, India
Tan Kiat How
Minister of State, Ministry of National Development; Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore
Gwendoline Abunaw
Managing Director, Ecobank Cameroon, Cameroon
Ajit Mohan
Vice President and Managing Director, Meta India
Jeremy Jurgens
Managing Director; Head of Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, World Economic Forum
Sanskriti Dawle
Co-Founder and CEO, Thinkerbell Labs, India
Bibek Debroy
Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, India
21:00 - 21:30
21:30 - 22:30
The dramatic collapse of Kabul in 2021 will have lasting repercussions for the Afghan people and South Asia. The world reeled as visuals of America’s departure and the Taliban’s ascendancy inundated social media feeds and news reels. From terrorism and regional stability to human rights and gender equality, the rise of a new dispensation in Kabul raises a host of stark questions for the international community. America and its allies have suffered irreparably.
Has the Afghanistan and Ukraine contrast shown that values defended in the borderlands of Europe will not be fought for elsewhere? How will shocking American actions, questioned by most in the region, impact Brand America? What is the prognosis on the rights and future of the people of Afghanistan and their ability to dream of democracy again? What role, both constructive and malevolent, have Afghanistan’s neighbours played? With the Afghan state in disarray, who is going to hold the proverbial baby and provide for nation building?
Manish Tewari
Member of Parliament, India
James Carafano
Vice President, Foreign Policy, The Heritage Foundation, United States
Lisa Curtis
Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security, United States
Javid Ahmad
Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council, United States
Stefan Mair
Executive Chairman and Director, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Germany
Yalda Hakim
Chief Presenter-International Correspondent, BBC World News, Australia
21:30 - 22:30
The manipulation of information is being marshalled by state and non-state actors as a weapon of war. As lines between fact and fiction blur, information warfare is set to be the 21st century’s most devastating and consequential digital battleground.
What are the significant vulnerabilities and limitations of the information ecosystem that make it susceptible to bad actors? How can states and corporations limit offline harms of online disinformation wars fuelled by bots? Without endangering free speech, how can they address the social divisions and subversion engendered by manipulated content?
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Rajesh Pant
National Cyber Security Coordinator, Prime Minister’s Office, India
Henri Verdier
Ambassador for Digital Affairs, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
Jeremy Quin
Minister of State (Minister for Defence Procurement), United Kingdom
Erin Saltman
Director of Programming, Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), United States
Janka Oertel
Director, Asia Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations, Germany
Moderator:
Caitriona Heinl
Executive Director; Adjunct Research Fellow, The Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy, Ireland
09:00 - 09:10
V. Muraleedharan
Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs,India
09:10 - 10:00
At the turn of the millennium, modern and prosperous societies were exhausted from defending or opposing grand ideologies that arose in the 19th century. Radicalism was dead, history was over, and a rough consensus on a liberal political order had emerged. Today, the world is even richer, and even more radically polarised, whether on the streets or on virtual platforms. #Ideologies, often extreme, proliferate by the day, constantly contesting what were considered settled political arrangements for societies, communities, and nations.
So, is a liberal order an oxymoron when liberalism itself has no modern-day variant? What is the secret sauce that will bind collectives in the future? Will it be a democratic political regime? Or the preferences of the dominant? Will the views of community mobilisers prevail? Are spontaneous coalitions and irrational political aggregations our destiny? Is economic globalisation more important than commonly-agreed politics?
Teodoro L. Locsin Jr
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Philippines
Carl Bildt
Former Prime Minister, Sweden; Co-Chair, European Council on Foreign Relations
Stephen Harper
Former Prime Minister, Canada
Baijayant Panda
National Vice President, Bharatiya Janata Party, India
Jane Holl Lute
Former Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, United States
Palki Sharma Upadhyay
Executive Editor, WION, India
10:00 - 10:40
S. Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs, India
Samir Saran
President, ORF
10:40 - 10:55
10:55 - 11:45
Past industrial revolutions were powered by the uncontrolled use of fossil fuels; the Fourth Industrial Revolution must find additional sources of energy. Yet, 2021 provided stark reminders of how many countries still depend on a secure supply of fossil fuels. The energy transition is not straightforward: It could amplify socio-political fissures at home, and introduce dependencies abroad. For developing countries, rigid decarbonisation measures could also thwart the evolution of a robust domestic industry.
How can energy transitions help in rapid industrialisation and at-scale employment generation in the developing world? How can key nations invest in an institutional framework that supports this new energy landscape of the future? Will constructs like the International Solar Alliance be the start of a new era of coalitions for like-minded nations? Will geopolitics serve these energy transitions or complicate them?
Anniken Huitfeldt
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Santiago Andrés Cafiero
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Argentina
Mathias Cormann
Secretary-General, OECD
Aminath Shauna
Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Maldives
Amitabh Kant
CEO, NITI Aayog, India
Ila Patnaik
Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group, India
11:45 - 12:15
Nitin Gadkari
Minister of Road Transport and Highways, India
Shereen Bhan
Managing Editor, CNBC TV-18, India
12:15 - 12:30
12:30 - 13:20
The “Brussels Effect” is the talk of the town in global capitals. From its response to the Ukraine conflict, to unveiling the multi-billion dollar Global Gateway Project, to announcing a strategy for the Indo-Pacific, to the Strategic Compass, the EU’s actions are being keenly watched.
Is the EU learning how to use the language of power? Has the standoff in Ukraine catalysed a greater European inclination towards defence and security? How will a future EU project military power – through national militaries with similar shared objectives, a European army, or NATO? Are the continent’s existing political institutions capable of playing a more overtly geopolitical role? Russia united the EU; will China divide it?
Zbigniew Rau
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland
Jean Asselborn
Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Luxembourg
Gabrielius Landsbergis
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lithuania
Leslie Vinjamuri Wright
Director, US and Americas, Chatham House, United Kingdom
Rachel Rizzo
Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Europe Center, United States
Ali Aslan
International TV Presenter and Journalist, Germany
13:20 - 14:50
Inadequate flow of global capital to developing countries remains the biggest hurdle to achieving climate targets. Despite US$46 trillion of pension funds and excess savings of nearly US$4 trillion earning negligible returns, the actual flow of capital to developing countries remains well below stated pledges and real requirements. Private finance will have to step in to work with public finance in closing the gaps for sustainable decarbonisation and a just transition.
How can the Global North be made to deliver on its green finance commitments? How can risk assessments privilege green investments in emerging economies? Can big players in global financial hubs build capacity to evaluate and deploy capital at scale in the developing world? What innovative financial instruments are needed to accelerate green finance in emerging destinations where large gains for eco-transition are to be had?
Amitabh Kant
CEO, NITI Aayog, India
Mathias Cormann
Secretary-General, OECD
Gwendoline Abunaw
Managing Director, EcoBank Cameroon, Cameroon
Christian Kettel Thomsen
Vice President, European Investment Bank
Joojin Kim
Managing Director, Solutions For Our Climate, South Korea
Shikha Bhasin
Senior Programme Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), India
13:20 - 14:50
From delivering specialist health care in rural areas to tailoring nutritional interventions for mothers, data and AI hold the key to 21st century healthcare. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, resilient and effective healthcare systems matter more than ever for developing nations. In leveraging these new technologies for health, developing countries must contend with inadequate infrastructure and foreign players seeking to hoover local data.
What are the learnings from the pandemic on the role of technology and innovation in our healthcare systems? With know-how and funding concentrated in a few advanced countries, how can capability be transferred to the developing world? Can states conclude a partnership of equals with the private sector to construct digital development-centred societies? How can Indonesia and India leverage their G20 Presidencies to construct a coalition of the willing that will equitably harness Health Tech for the future?
Kwati Candith Mashego-Dlamini
Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
Dino Patti Djalal
Founder and Chairman, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia, Indonesia
Preeti Sudan
Panel Member, The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response; Former Secretary (Health), India
Gargee Ghosh
President, Global Policy and Advocacy, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, India
Mark Chataway
Managing Director, Hyderus, United Kingdom
Amandeep Gill
CEO and Project Director, International Digital Health & AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR), Switzerland
13:20 - 14:50
This session will feature the Indian Defence Secretary and will host defence chiefs, serving officers, academics, and members of the private sector. The session will focus on the implications of emerging technologies and partnerships, and changing geopolitics. Drawing on lessons from recent developments, it will discuss the new threat environment and security landscape that are shaped by emerging technologies, and how democracies can ensure security and prosperity for their people.
Ajay Kumar
Defence Secretary, India
13:20 - 14:50
14:50 - 15:40
In recent times, European nations – individually and collectively – have emerged as significant geopolitical actors. European capitals and the European Union have termed China a strategic competitor, sought to take stronger positions on human rights; and set down Indo-Pacific strategies for the 21st century that aim to promote a rules-based order and the gaming of trade arrangements. However, there are questions about Europe’s ability to assert itself against an expansive and rising China.
Will Europe trade its security for economic returns? Can the Ukrainian crisis see the emergence of a European Union more determined to collectively respond to authoritarian regimes? Will economic dependencies with China undermine strong political positions, given Beijing’s “divide and invest” policy? Can collective economic actions (sanctions) work against a country much larger than Russia or will there need to be different ideas for a different threat?
Anniken Huitfeldt
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Anže Logar
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia
Anthony Abbott
Former Prime Minister, Australia
Sanjay Verma
Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, India
Petra Sigmund
Director General for Asia and the Pacific, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
Peter Grk
Secretary-General, Bled Strategic Forum, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia
15:40 - 16:10
Wopke Hoekstra
Deputy Prime Minister; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
Harsh V Pant
Vice President, Studies and Foreign Policy, Observer Research Foundation, India
16:10 - 16:40
16:40 - 17:30
Multilateralism is under attack. The postwar system, with the United Nations and related organisations serving as its bedrock, has failed to respond to multiple crises – climate change, the pandemic, trade, or preventing great power aggression. Some world leaders have even called for its dissolution in the face of this impotence.
As confrontations brew in the Indo-Pacific and in Old Europe, is the post-war model of great power relations still relevant? What place do institutions like the UN and its founding principles have in an age in which great power contestation is multipolar, and overarching narratives are distrusted? In our digitalised and corporatised present, sovereign states are weakened – how can institutions structured around sovereign states retain relevance? To the point of irrelevance? Is it dangerous for inert UN institutions to be regarded as the highest supranational arbiters while failing to fulfil their role?
Ararat Mirzoyan
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armenia
Daniel Carmon
Senior Research Fellow, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Israel; Former Ambassador of Israel to India
Lakshmi Puri
Former Assistant Secretary General, United Nations, India
Charles Kupchan
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Professor of International Relations, Georgetown University, United States
Jane Holl Lute
Former Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, United States
Shashi Tharoor
Member of Parliament, India
17:30 - 18:20
As data, digitisation and technology are becoming everyday utilities, South and Southeast Asia will find themselves in a unique position in a rapidly evolving global economic world order. Driven by a rising consumer class, strong start-up ecosystem, growing internet economy and a demographic dividend, the digital wave is reshaping and redefining almost every aspect of business and society.
How can countries in the region take advantage of their young populations, infrastructure growth, and the digital economy? What is the potential for building trade and digital connectivity projects catering to an aspirational population? How can nations cooperate to enhance digital data flows and cross-border payments, while ensuring solutions are inclusive and equitable, and respect the privacy of citizens? Can debt-traps and unsustainable financing undermine and undercut the promise of, for example, a Bay of Bengal cooperative?
Aminath Shauna
Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Maldives
Vinay Mohan Kwatra
Ambassador to Nepal; Foreign Secretary (Designate), India
Shahidul Haque
Senior Fellow, North South University; Former Foreign Secretary, Bangladesh
Biswo Nath Poudel
Vice Chairperson, National Planning Commission, Nepal
Tshering Cigay Dorji
Former CEO, Thimphu TechPark, Bhutan
Cecile Fruman
Director, Regional Integration and Engagement, South Asia, World Bank
18:20 - 18:40
18:40 - 19:30
As the plains of Ukraine turn into a battlefield, few players have more at stake than China. Its “no limits” partner faces stringent Western sanctions and its strategic competitors have found a new resolve. China is faced with a choice between its stated respect for sovereignty and its burgeoning friendship with Moscow.
What lessons will China and the world take from the Ukraine conflict? If deterrence hasn’t worked with Moscow, how will it work with Beijing? With the West largely united over Russian sanctions, is the Chinese economic juggernaut likely to face similar pressure in the event of a crisis? WIll China’s lure be able to stand the test of a prolonged association with Moscow?
Adm. Tony Radakin
Chief of the Defence Staff, United Kingdom
Maj. Gen. Jung Hae-Il
President, Korea National Defense University, South Korea
Reinhard Bütikofer
Member, European Parliament, Germany
Andrew Shearer
Director General, Office of National Intelligence, Australia
Gudrun Wacker
Senior Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Germany
Yalda Hakim
Chief Presenter-International Correspondent, BBC World News, Australia
19:30 - 21:00
Pax Americana was built not only on the US’ industrial dominance, but also on the cultural power of Hollywood; the Asian century will be no different. India’s media and entertainment ecosystem is expected to generate over US$53 billion annually by 2025.
What are the policies and regulatory frameworks needed to fast track the growth of the Indo-Pacific as the “Content Subcontinent”? How can the region’s large and youth-driven demographic be leveraged to make it the world’s content powerhouse and harness the creative economy? How can the stories coming out of the Indo-Pacific be leveraged to promote inclusiveness, pluralism, and diversity? What are the international partnerships that must be invested in?
Anurag Thakur
Minister of Information and Broadcasting; Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, India
Bela Bajaria
Head of Global TV, Netflix, India
Madhuri Dixit
Actor, Producer, India
Shekhar Kapur
Actor, Director, Producer, India
Saad Mohseni
CEO, MOBY Group, Australia
Amish Tripathi
Director, The Nehru Centre; Author, India
19:30 - 21:00
As automation, atomisation, and the gig economy undercut 20th century social protections, three bargains will define the social contract in digital economies. First, governments and citizens must strive to protect privacy rights from data-driven corporate behemoths. Second, businesses and governments must frame an economic and regulatory architecture that promotes innovation while protecting privacy and worker’s rights. Finally, workers and technology platforms need to rethink collective bargaining and reimagine social security nets in the gig economy.
How is the 20th century welfare model impacted by this? What are the global successful models for protecting the informal digital workforce and what is the role of the state in shaping adequate protections? Is it time for welfare to be provided to citizens irrespective of their employment status? Can workers in big tech organise into traditional unions as some US Amazon employees did recently? Who are the Teamsters of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
NK Singh
Chairman, 15th Finance Commission, India
Narek Mkrtchyan
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Armenia
Kim Heungchong
President, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, South Korea
Athira Menon
Head, Public Policy, Uber India and South Asia
Shrayana Bhattacharya
Economist, Social Protection and Labour Unit for South Asia, World Bank
Lucy Corkin
Business Strategist, Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa
19:30 - 21:00
Over the past two years, the countries of the Indo-Pacific have faced new challenges in both economic and strategic domains. The fallout of the pandemic, including the reconfiguration of supply chains, the reassessment of trade and economic linkages, and indeed reappraisal of political partnerships are all part of the contemporary Indo-Pacific journey. Addressing security concerns, in traditional and emerging domains, has also taken on a fresh urgency. How like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific partner can decisively address these will form part of this off-the-record dinner conversation featuring the Indian Foreign Secretary (designate).
Vinay Mohan Kwatra
Foreign Secretary (Designate), India
19:30 - 21:00
In pursuit of global AI innovation and pushing the frontiers of AI adoption, we have unwittingly created ‘artificial’ crises — biased automated decision-making systems. AI researchers are working on building moral machines that comprehend human values and are capable of applying them. But is the human race ready to surrender agency to biased machines? These systems have been infamous for wrongly identifying criminals, classifying dark-coloured people as gorillas, and deeming working women less eligible for loans.
Are algorithms and AI surreptitiously rewriting our social contract and society? How will data policies implicate privacy, inclusion and innovation, and can we limit the capacity of AI and emerging technology to exacerbate societal cleavages? Should we risk access to essential resources for marginalised communities based on decisions made by biased algorithms and database owners? Is banning a viable option for limiting the harms of LAWS, deep fakes, and killer robots?
Eamon Gilmore
Special Representative for Human Rights, European Union
Stéphane Duguin
CEO, CyberPeace Institute, Switzerland
Lydia Kostopoulos
Senior Vice President, Emerging Tech, KnowBe4, United States
Vikram Sharma
Founder and CEO, Quintessence Labs, Australia
Erin Saltman
Director of Programming, Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), United States
19:30 - 21:00
21:00 - 21:30
21:30 - 22:30
The conflict in Ukraine has focused the world’s eyes on a Russia that it has failed to entirely accommodate or confront. Questions about the new Russian identity and its place in the world have become crucial inputs into long-range planning in global capitals.
Yet, many questions remain unanswered. What is the provocation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and why now? What lies at the root of the difficulties of the execution of Russia’s goals? How does the conflict end, and does it end well for Russia? Are we entering a new cold war or hot peace? Will Russia’s role in its international partnerships, from the SCO to the BRICS, be attenuated by its actions in Ukraine? How has the conflict changed the course of Russia; is its tilt towards China now inevitable? Is China’s support for Russia unconditional, or are there tensions in the relationship that will become apparent over time?
Carl Bildt
Former Prime Minister, Sweden; Co-Chair, European Council on Foreign Relations
Andrei Bystritsky
Chairman, Foundation for Development and Support, Valdai Discussion Club, Russia
Viktoriia Zhuravleva
Head, Center for North American Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russia
François Godement
Senior Advisor, Institut Montaigne, France
Milena Lazarevic
Programme Director and Co-founder, European Policy Centre, Serbia
Nandan Unnikrishnan
Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India
21:30 - 22:30
Western sanctions against Russia have wreaked substantial collateral damage. International trading regimes, mechanisms like SWIFT and even agricultural exports find themselves condemned to death by sanction.
Do sanctions work and if so, are they worth their collateral effects? With previously untouchable central bank reserves and food exports under pressure, have sanctions over Ukraine put the world on the path to an economic “total war”? Have quick-start actions, imposed with little global consultation, damaged trust in international financial institutions?
Heribert Dieter
Senior Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Germany
Manuel Lafont Rapnouil
Head, Policy Planning, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
Alena Kudzko
Vice President, GLOBSEC, Slovakia
Shamika Ravi
Vice President, Economic Policy, Observer Research Foundation, India
Kenneth Juster
Distinguished Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, United States; Former Ambassador of United States to India
Navdeep Suri
Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India
09:00 - 09:10
Meenakashi Lekhi
Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs, India
09:10 - 10:10
In the 21st century, threats to the global order exist not just in the open, but in the shadows: Cyberattacks; supply chain disruptions, and the shortage of critical minerals; the proliferation of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems; and the weaponisation of domestic socio-political cleavages.
How are current and emerging technologies shaping our assessments of risks, alliances, and national security? Will these shared threats foster cooperation between international partners with divergent economic abilities and political interests or will we see a new zero-sum game to dominate? How can we stop attacks on critical digital infrastructure that delivers health, finance, and other existential needs? Given non-state actors can utilise these new threats much more easily, how can we ensure state actors do not take advantage of this additional form of deniability? What new coalitions and arrangements can rebuild trust in the age of dangerous tech?
Scene Setter - Tim Cahill
Senior Vice President, Global Business Development & Strategy, Lockheed Martin, United States
Adm. R Hari Kumar
Chief of the Naval Staff, India
Gen. Angus Campbell
Chief of the Defence Force, Australia
Gen. Koji Yamazaki
Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Japan Self-Defense Forces
Adm. John C. Aquilino
Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Air Marshal Luc De Rancourt
Deputy Director General for International Affairs and Strategy, Ministry for Armed Forces, France
Lisa Singh
Director and CEO, Australia India Institute, Australia
10:10 - 11:10
11:10 - 12:00
India at 75 has evolved as a significant global actor with commensurate expectations from the world regarding its choices, actions, and its dynamic evolution. From responding to climate change and humanitarian crises, to global peace and security, to technology and digital frontiers, India’s actions will shape the 21st century world. This panel seeks to engage with the roads India has travelled, and the pathways that lie ahead. What will shape India’s decisions for the future? What is driving global expectations from a resolute India that is increasingly focused on creating favourable outcomes for its people and the world? How will India’s transformation contribute to global well-being?
S. Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs, India
João Gomes Cravinho
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Portugal
Stephen Harper
Former Prime Minister, Canada
Jeff M. Smith
Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation, United States
Velina Tchakarova
Director, Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, Austria
Samir Saran
President, Observer Research Foundation, India
12:00 - 12:30
Bhupendra Yadav
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Sunjoy Joshi
Chairman, Observer Research Foundation, India
12:30 - 13:20
Technology, once presumed to deepen and reinforce democracy, also poses risks to free societies along multiple axes. Large tech companies have gained influence in sectors from financial services to healthcare, while regulators struggle to keep up. Authoritarian states have discovered the use of technology as a method of control. And technology itself has moved into areas such as deep fakes that challenge social reality itself.
Since the digital is our public sphere, is it time to regulate advertisement by perverse political actors and their agents? Should we embrace reciprocity as a principle for de-platforming the Wolf Warriors mandated to spread disinformation, and see free speech as war by other means? Will digital territories shape the 21st century as the Westphalian political model defined the past?
Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Minister of State, Electronics and Information Technology, India
Zunaid Ahmed Palak
Minister of State, Information and Communication Technology, Bangladesh
Anne Neuberger
Deputy National Security Advisor, Cyber and Emerging Technology, United States
Vivek Lall
Chief Executive, General Atomics Global Corporation, United States
Nanjira Sambuli
Fellow, Technology and International Affairs Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, United States
Kanchan Gupta
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India
13:20 - 14:50
AI, IoT, and Big Data are rewriting the rules of the trade game in the Indo-Pacific. Digital trade, in the era of intelligence, runs the gamut from cross-border e-commerce and online gaming to digital payments. In the face of these sea changes, nations are scrambling to conclude digital trade agreements like DEPA.
Has the time come for new digital trade and investment partnerships focused on the Indo-Pacific? How can such a deal, defined by interoperability in standards and commonality in values, be constructed with a broad coalition of liberal democracies? How can we expand the Quad dialogue to include financial regulators, central banks, and like minded nations, in pursuit of digital and financial inclusion? How can these countries coordinate their approach to emerging domains such as cryptocurrencies, digital currencies and NFTs? Can digital institutions, digital infrastructure, and digital interoperability be combined in a digital new deal for the region?
Sumit Seth
Joint Secretary, Policy Planning and Research, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Romana Vlahutin
Ambassador at Large for Connectivity, European External Action Service
Sharad Sharma
Co-Founder, iSPIRT, India
Medha Girotra
Vice President, Public Policy (South Asia), Mastercard, United States
Hiroyuki Akita
Commentator, Foreign Affairs and International Security, Nikkei, Japan
Erin Watson-Lynn
Public Affairs Consultant and Adjunct Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Australia
13:20 - 14:50
The Indo-Pacific is in the market for a rebrand. Once seen as the key geopolitical construct of our times, the Indo-Pacific must now trade bullets for bread in its quest to address ageing societies, widespread unemployment, food and nutritional insecurity, and a host of socio-economic challenges. Home to two thirds of humanity, the region must leverage advances in technology and its reserve of human capital to deliver sustainable growth before time runs out.
In an increasingly digital and informal global economy, how can regional partnerships rewrite the development agenda on social protection, economic growth, and infrastructure? Can alliances led by the emerging world design solutions to pressing issues like air pollution, liveable urbanism, and biodiversity preservation? If connectivity is key for development in the region, can states resolve the tension between China’s fast-track funding and the West’s promise of slow-moving but high-quality infrastructure? What is the potential of green transitions to catalyse business?
Report Release: Bruno Bosle
Country Director, AFD, France
Aaditya Thackeray
Minister of Tourism and Environment, Government of Maharashtra, India
Philippe Orliange
International Operations Executive Director, AFD, France
Javier Salido Ortiz
Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain
Melinda Bohannon
Director, Strategy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom
Uduak Amimo
Acting Executive Director, Uraia Trust, Kenya
Sunaina Kumar
Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India
13:20 - 14:50
The G20 remains the most powerful and influential forum for global economic governance; and, for the first time, three successive G20 presidencies will be held by emerging economies. As India takes over the presidency from Indonesia this year, these countries have the opportunities to redesign the global economic architecture and set a new agenda for sustainable finance, digital economy, human capital, infrastructure, health and other G20 priorities.
What are the issues that the members of the Troika should prioritise? Which past G20 initiatives worked and should be taken forward? Amid a new crisis that has disrupted macro-economic stability and slowed the flow of sustainable finance, how can the G20 regain its leadership position?
Abhay Thakur
Additional Secretary (G20), Ministry of External Affairs, India
Dian Triansyah Djani
G20 Co-Sherpa, Indonesia
César Augusto Vermiglio Bonamigo
Head of G20 General Coordination and Brazil's Sous-Sherpa to G20, Brazil
Andreas Schaal
Director, Global Relations, OECD; OECD Sherpa to the G7, the G20 and APEC
13:20 - 14:50
The pandemic underlined the importance of resilient female leadership. Women are reshaping our thinking on power, politics, and peace. Female leaders now command nations, armies, and major corporations – but have the principles of government and machinery of governance shifted to match?
From a buzzword to reality, what constitutes a feminist foreign policy? What is the nature of the stakeholders who will implement and define this foreign policy and how is it different from the past? Does a non-patriarchal approach also democratise international relations and bring in voices from below? How do we invest in a new cadre of proponents of feminist foreign policy?
Hans-Christian Hagman
Chief Analyst and Senior Adviser to the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Aleksandra Dier
Regional Advisor on Women, Peace and Security in the Middle East and North Africa, UN Women
Ambika Vishwanath
Co-Founder and Director, Kubernein Initiative, India
Nancy Ziuzin Schlegel
Vice President, International Government Affairs, Lockheed Martin, United States
Dóra Szűcs
Head, International Relations, Mathias Corvinus Collegium, Hungary
Sarah Bressan
Co-Founder, Better Think Tanking; Research Fellow, Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), Germany
14:50 - 15:40
Across the world, women have steered effective and inclusive COVID-19 response programmes, establishing themselves as first responders in both policy chambers and on the frontlines. Despite the challenges that complicate female leadership and participation across different realms, it is critical to achieve gender equity to enable and accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals.
Drawing on lessons from the pandemic, how can women be further empowered and their potential unlocked to accelerate development? How can female leadership be enhanced across the political sphere, boardrooms, and financial systems? What can be done to make technology more inclusive for women and to aid them in crisis response and recovery? How can education be made more accessible, not just for women as students, but for women as educators?
Smriti Z. Irani
Minister of Women and Child Development, India
Kwati Candith Mashego-Dlamini
Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
Waseqa Ayesha Khan
Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources; Member of Parliament, Bangladesh
Vanita Sharma
Advisor, Strategic Initiatives, Reliance Foundation, India
Shombi Sharp
Resident Coordinator India, United Nations
Chandrika Bahadur
Former Director, SDG Academy, India
15:40 - 16:30
Post the pandemic, states are grappling with three overarching ideas: Self-reliance, the stability and security of supply chains; and the right balance between geopolitics and economic imperatives. With the frailties of the old global supply chains exposed, trading nations seek like-minded actors to create networks built on trust, and infrastructure that prioritises resilience and quality.
As the COVID-19 pandemic turns two, how have efforts at building self-reliance confronted the convenience of business as usual? How can economic recovery and sustainability be harmonised in the post-pandemic economic architecture? As new linkages are forged through the Global Gateway Project and B3W, how will political tensions be reflected in the economic sphere? How can infrastructure capital serve both strategic aims and developing nations’ need for resilience and self-reliance?
Geoffrey Onyeama
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria
Jayant Sinha
Member of Parliament; Chairperson, Standing Committee on Finance, India
Romana Vlahutin
Ambassador at Large for Connectivity, European External Action Service
Tadashi Maeda
Governor, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan
Philippe Orliange
Executive Director, Country Programs, AFD, France
Garima Mohan
Fellow, Asia Programme, German Marshall Fund, Germany
16:30 - 16:50
16:50 - 17:40
Afghanistan and Ukraine have laid bare the cracks in the edifice of American power. Its interventions have failed, its military might no longer deters adversaries like China and Russia, and its domestic frailties are clear for all to see.
If America is now a house divided against itself, can it sustain the post-World War consensus that underwrote its rise? What, if anything, can American leadership do to restore trust at home and abroad? With the China challenge looming, how do allies and partners make sense of a world without American hegemony?
Carl Bildt
Former Prime Minister, Sweden; Co-Chair, European Council on Foreign Relations
Ashok Malik
Policy Advisor, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Ming-Shih Shen
Acting Deputy CEO & Director, Division of National Security Research, Institute for National Defence and Security Research
Daniel Twining
President, International Republican Institute, United States
Lisa Curtis
Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Centre for a New American Security, United States
Lynn Kuok
Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security, IISS, Singapore
17:40 - 18:00
18:00 - 18:50
Africa has defined global trade since time immemorial. From fostering the Greco-Roman spice trade with India to hosting the mighty Suez Canal, Africa has helped connect the world. As we enter the digital age, young Africa is once again poised to shape our common future. Its partnership with a dynamic Asia will be critical.
How can these continents work together to serve consumers, connectivity, and commerce? What is underwriting the emergence of the African story and who are its key partners? Can a ‘development first’ approach help foster beneficial integration between Africa and global partners? How can India act with African countries on development challenges and climate response as well as revitalise its people-to-people connect? Can Africa contribute to a new economic order led by women and strengthened through diversity and inclusion?
Geoffrey Onyeama
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria
Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong
Deputy Minister Political and Economic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana
Dammu Ravi
Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, India
Usta Kaitesi
CEO, Rwanda Governance Board, Rwanda
Omneya Ghamry
Programme Manager, Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, Egypt
18:50 - 19:40
Maritime nations will be instrumental in shaping new low-carbon development strategies while also dealing with biodiversity preservation, the costs of adaptation and with debt burdens worsened by the pandemic.
What can the world learn from these efforts, and how can global coalitions and international partnerships support them? How can they balance their search for infrastructure investment while protecting their fragile ecosystems? How are maritime nations shaping the global energy landscape? Are strategic international partnerships and international financial linkages such as carbon credits key to accelerating green transitions, and how can they be invested in? Can these countries carve their own lanes and preserve economic sovereignty amid contestation between the Beijing-sponsored model and liberal internationalist principles?
Hugh Hilton Todd
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Guyana
Ausaf Sayeed
Secretary (CPV and OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, India
Mohamed Nasheed
Speaker of the Parliament; Former President, Maldives
Malshini Senaratne
Asst. Head of Department and Lecturer, University of Seychelles, Seychelles
Preeti Soni
Head, UN Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology, India
19:40 - 19:50
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs, India
19:50 - 20:40
The geopolitical developments and the pandemic in the last two years have made us acutely aware of the frailties of global public goods, supply chains, and institutions. The weaponisation of financial systems and prominent symbols of globalisation has rung alarm bells around the world.
How can global financial flows and mechanisms be ring-fenced from political blockages? Does the weaponisation of popular symbols of globalisation have real-value impact, or is it merely pandering? In such circumstances, what paths do nations have to genuine self-reliance? In an era of geopolitical conflict across kinetic, cyber, or ideological arenas, what can be done to prevent the weaponisation of everything? How can the international community ensure that the supply lines essential to health and food security, for instance, are protected from arbitrary political action?
Tobias Lindner
Minister of State, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
Péter Sztáray
Minister of State for Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
Anne Neuberger
Deputy National Security Advisor, Cyber and Emerging Technology, United States
Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Indrani Bagchi
CEO, Ananta Aspen Centre, India
20:40 - 22:00
Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific are no longer just about security or economics. They blend the two, seeking to create new linkages of trade, trust, and norms.
From securing supplies of rare earth minerals and semiconductors to ensuring the spread of sustainable, quality infrastructure, can groupings like the Quad script a new economic architecture for the Indo-Pacific? How can we conceive partnerships that extend beyond traditional security and are inclusive enough to bring in key partners like Korea and ASEAN? Given internal divisions within the Quad on questions from trade norms to data regulation, can a divided house push a unified geo-economic vision?
Keynote: Anne Neuberger
Deputy National Security Advisor, Cyber and Emerging Technology, United States
Melissa Conley Tyler
Program Lead, Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy and Defence Dialogue, Australia
Lydia Kostopoulos
Senior Vice President, Emerging Tech, KnowBe4, United States
Marguerite Benson
Founder, Sticky Wicket Advising, United States
Satoru Nagao
Fellow (Non-Resident), Hudson Institute, Japan
Ashutosh Chadha
Director and Country Head, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Microsoft, India
20:40 - 22:00
Digital technology will transform finance over the 21st century. From blockchain to decentralised finance, digital payments to loans on tab, electronic IDs to digital currencies, will change our assessment of finance and will implicate our financial inclusion.
What are the achievements in terms of financial and social technology thanks to the dissemination of new technology in the sector? How can countries collaborate on shared regimes to address vexed questions such as digital taxation and the regulation of digital assets? How can the regulatory architecture catalyse the service of the underserved and create digital global safety nets? Can the protection and creation of global public goods go along with value creation and entrepreneurial growth? How does any national government create sharp regulations in a borderless digital ecosystem which is both undeciphered and delocalised?
Zunaid Ahmed Palak
Minister of State, Information and Communication Technology, Bangladesh
Priyanka Chaturvedi
Member of Parliament, India
Astha Kapoor
Co-founder, Aapti Institute
Usta Kaitesi
CEO, Rwanda Governance Board, Rwanda
Kwame Owino
CEO, IEA, Kenya
Amar Patnaik
Member of Parliament, India
20:40 - 22:00
The most efficient mechanism to accelerate the transition to low-carbon growth is a carbon price. But how will different approaches to taxing or pricing carbon intersect with each other? A uniform global price for carbon would violate the basic principle that developing nations be treated differently from the developed world, which is responsible for 80 percent of historical emissions. It would undercut emerging nations’ development budgets and condemn many to poverty.
How can we ensure that the developing world’s poverty is not the developed world’s mitigation strategy? Are new trade policies and investment biases seeking to serve the developed world’s interests? How can a more equitable carbon pricing arrangement be developed? What role could “climate clubs” play? How can any and all carbon tax collected by the developed world be deployed for development imperatives of the emerging world?
Waseqa Ayesha Khan
Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources; Member of Parliament, Bangladesh
Jayant Sinha
Member of Parliament, India
Elizabeth Yee
Executive Vice President, Program Strategy and Chief of Staff, The Rockefeller Foundation, United States
Shirish Sinha
Acting Executive Director, India; Director, Climate, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, India
Kira Vinke
Head, Centre for Climate and Foreign Policy, German Council on Foreign Relations, Germany
Ulka Kelkar
Director, Climate Program, World Resources Institute, India
20:40 - 22:00
From the Heartland theory to the Great Game, Eurasia has long been at the core of global politics. The brewing entente cordiale between China and Russia is rewriting the rules of the game; and the return of the Taliban means the script of terrorism stalks Eurasia once again.
How has the fall of Afghanistan changed regional dynamics? How is the Moscow-Beijing entente and the current Ukraine war reshaping the politics and security of the region? Post the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, how does Erdogan’s Turkey influence regional stability? How can the US and the EU play a shaping role in the region and what partnerships will they need to foster? As the world is altered by technology, pandemics, and climate change, how are Eurasian nations and regional institutions rising to the challenge?
Seyed Rasoul Mousavi
Assistant Minister; Director General (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran
Alica Kizeková
Head, Asia Pacific Unit, Institute of International Relations, Czech Republic
Kairat Sarybay
Executive Director, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Kazakhstan
Eldor Aripov
Director, Institute of Strategic and Regional Studies, Uzbekistan
Francoise Nicolas
Director, Center For Asian Studies, French Institute of International Relations, France
Ali Aslan
International TV Presenter and Journalist, Germany
Ursula von der Leyen
President, European Commission
Samir Saran
President, Observer Research Foundation, India
Shahidul Haque
Senior Fellow, South Asian Institute of Policy and Government, North South University, Bangladesh
Kanchan Gupta
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India
Adm. John C. Aquilino
Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, United States
Samir Saran
President, Observer Research Foundation, India
Gen. Manoj M Naravane
Chief of the Army Staff, India
Harsh V Pant
Vice President, Studies and Foreign Policy, Observer Research Foundation, India
Nick Clegg
President, Global Affairs, Meta, United Kingdom
Ashok Malik
Policy Advisor, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Adm. Tony Radakin
Chief of the Defence Staff, United Kingdom
Vikram Singh
Senior Advisor, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, United States
Zbigniew Rau
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland
Nandan Unnikrishnan
Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India
Santiago Andrés Cafiero
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Argentina
Diego Llosa Velásquez
Former Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Peru