PUNE, FEB 8: Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) 2022, the flagship geo-economics conference organised jointly by Pune International Centre policy research think tank and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, will be held in the virtual mode from February 23 to February 25, 2022.
The theme for this conference is: Resilient Global Growth in a Post-Pandemic World and the discussions will focus on the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on trade and finance, on the world and on Asia in particular, as well as strategies to deal with this impact.
This conference is a major international event, featuring high-level participation from foreign ministers from various countries, senior bureaucrats, industry leaders, domain experts and global trade and financial experts. This conference will be Live Streamed and the Registration Link is:
(https://vconfex.com/site/asia-economic-dialogue-2022/1496)
Some of the prominent speakers at this conference include Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Mr. Benjamin E. Diokno, Governor, Central Bank of Philippines; Dr. Baba Kalyani, MD, Bharat Forge; Dr. Joerg Wuttke, President, European Chamber of Commerce in China and Ms. Nihad Kabir, President, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dhaka.
Mr. Mukesh Ambani, CMD, Reliance Industries Ltd will be engaged in a Fireside Chat with Dr. R.
- Mashelkar, National Research Professor and President, Pune International Centre on the topic, ‘Green Energy for a Sustainable Future’.
The Inaugural session will feature the Hon. External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and some distinguished ministers from other nations whose names will be announced later.
The session with the Central Bankers of 3 countries will include Dr Michael Patra, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India. Titled, Economic Policy for Sustained Post-Pandemic Growth, it will be chaired by Dr. Rakesh Mohan, President & Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress. Dr Mohan is the former Deputy Governor of the RBI.
The session on Asian Industry in the Post-Pandemic World will be chaired by Dr Ganesh Natarajan. This panel will include Dr. Baba Kalyani, MD, Bharat Forge, Dr. Joerg Wuttke, President, European Chamber of Commerce in China, Ms. Nihad Kabir, President, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dhaka, and a senior Corporate leader from South Korea.
This pandemic of more than two years has led to a massive expansion of the digital world. The session on The Emerging Digital World will take a closer look at this. It will be chaired by Mr Ravi Pandit, Chairman KPIT and the panellists include Mr. Nithin Kamath, Co-founder and CEO, Zerodha, Mr. Vijay M. Karnani, former India Head, Goldman Sachs and Mr. Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment.
With the livelihoods of millions of people having taken a very big hit in the pandemic, the session on ‘Livelihood Creation and Enhancing Incomes in the Post-Pandemic World‘ chaired by the well-known economist Dr Ajit Ranade will be an important one. Recently appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, the panellists in his session include: Prof. Maitreesh
Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, Prof. Amrita Dhillon, Professor of Economics, Kings College, London; Prof. Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics at New York University and Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Developmental Studies.
The repeated lockdowns, travel bans and disruptions across the world had their impact on world trade. How is this being viewed by the World Trade Organisation? The session on New Directions for World Trade will be chaired by Dr Harsha Vardhana Singh, former Deputy Director-General of the WTO. The Director-General of WTO, Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been invited for a Fireside Chat with Dr. Harsha. The Permanent Representatives to the WTO from India, South Africa and Australia will be among the panellists at this session.
Startups and Unicorns have been grabbing the headlines and this conference will be featuring a session on Start-Ups in the Post-Pandemic World, chaired by Mr. Amit Paranjape, Co-founder, ReliScore.com The speakers include the well-known Israeli Journalist and Author, Mr Saul Singer, who wrote the global bestseller, ‘Start-Up Nation;’ Mr. Monish Darda, Co-founder and CTO, ICERTIS, Mr. Kusumo Martanto, CEO, Blibli and Dr Parul Ganju, Co-Founder and CEO, Ahammune Biosciences.
Two more interesting sessions deserve a mention: The first is the session on ‘India’s Contribution in Reducing Global Vaccine Inequity chaired by Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, former head of Epidemiology, ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines will be represented on this panel by Dr. Umesh Shaligram, Director (R&D). The other panellists include Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and MD, Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and Dr. Gagandeep Kang, the eminent virologist and Fellow of the Royal Society.
The penultimate session is on the impact of the pandemic on workspaces and this session, Transforming Workspaces and Economic Growth (SDG-8) is focused on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals-8 which relates to ‘Promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.’ This session is being chaired by Mr Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman, Automotive Stampings and Assemblies Ltd. The panellists in this session are: Mr. Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment, ILO (International Labour Organisation), Ms. Zuena Aziz, Principal Coordinator, SDG Affairs, PMO of Bangladesh, Mr. Stefano Scarpetta, Director, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD (The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.
The valedictory session will focus on India’s Approach to Economic Recovery in the Post-Pandemic World and this session will be chaired by Dr Vijay Kelkar, the eminent economist; former Chairman of the 13th Finance Commission and Vice President, PIC. The Hon. Union Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman has been invited to deliver the valedictory address.
Some Thoughts on AED 2022:
- Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, Convener, AED, 2022 & Trustee, PIC:
Asia Economic Dialogue is one of India’s premier conferences on geo-economics discussing issues that relate to India and the world. The galaxy of speakers at this Conference spans the globe. It is a forum where voices from all across the continents can be heard. The 2022 Asia Economic Dialogue once again brings an array of sessions and speakers focusing on how the world can and should deal with the economic impact of the current pandemic.
- Ganesh Natarajan, Session Chair and Trustee, PIC; Chairperson / Board Director 5F World I Lighthouse Communities I Honeywell:
“This will be the Asian century and India can choose the right pathways and industry sectors to dominate and be a leader in Asia and the world. This dialogue will enable us to learn from other countries and build better collaborations and pathways to a new destiny”
About Pune International Centre (PIC): The PIC is an independent think tank that deliberates on issues of national importance and contributes to policymaking in India. More than 400 eminent
individuals, 50+ national institutes, and several leading corporates, from all over India and the world are among its members. They pool their resources, capabilities, and experience to give shape to the papers and programmes produced by PIC.
