Foreword
The Gateway of India Dialogue, Mumbai, 13-14 June 2016, has gathered together the foremost minds in Indian and international policy, government, and business, to debate the issues of the day in foreign policy and geoeconomics. Organised and co-hosted by Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, this is a landmark event for India, and the first, we hope, in an annual series.
Hosting this dialogue in Mumbai enhances the city’s position as India’s commercial and financial capital, and acknowledges the contribution of corporate India to expanding the country’s global engagement.
The establishment of the conference at this critical, complex moment in world affairs reflects India’s readiness to participate, beyond just the level of the government, in the global dialogue. A confident nation that now feels simultaneously global, developing, and Asian, has valuable lessons and practical ideas to share for the future. This includes new thinking on the divergences and convergences of geoeconomics, climate change, energy, cyber-security, soft power, and also a fresh perspective on how the past links to the present.
The conference itself will provide a rich examination of these issues. But to offer additional analysis on the subjects covered at the meeting, Gateway House asked a range experts to bring their voices to the debate through the essays in this compendium. The contributors are established experts from key academic and corporate institutions, and also Gateway House’s own scholars.
In this volume, they offer their perspectives on topics that preoccupy policymakers and which will be discussed at The Gateway of India Dialogue. These include the economic fragmentation effect of mega-trade deals, the international financial architecture’s resistance to correcting its pro-rich countries bias despite the changing nature of global capital flows, India’s need to derisk its import-heavy energy policy and dependence on supplies from a volatile West Asia, Mumbai’s position as a regional financial centre, and the subterranean role of hawala in terrorism financing, and the challenges this poses for national security.
We hope that this compendium will enrich your attendance at the conference and stimulate further reflection and discussion at the event and beyond.
You can download the PDF version of this compendium, here.
This compendium and the articles within were exclusively written for The Gateway of India Dialogue 2016. You can read more exclusive content here.
For interview requests with the authors, or for permission to republish, please contact outreach@gatewayhouse.in.
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