India goes global: What role for Europe?, Brussel - Hoofdinhoud

Welcome and registration of participants

sESSION I

INDIA TODAY

As the world’s largest democracy and rising economic giant, India is making its mark on the world stage. India’s large and expanding consumer market as well as its vast, young and skilled labour force makes it a magnet for foreign investors. However, while foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has gone up in the past two decades, it remains well below the rate in China and Southeast Asia. Indian companies on the other hand have emerged as key global players and are increasing their investments across the world. In order to meet its ambitious growth targets and attract more FDI, India must tackle key obstacles to its growth, including poor infrastructure, dependence on oil imports, slow reforms, excessive bureaucracy and corruption. Can India speed up the pace of its economic reform efforts? What is the outlook of FDI in India and where are the opportunities for European companies? What measures is the government taking to address the bottlenecks that hinder the country’s growth? How are India’s global companies and brands fairing in an increasingly competitive market and what are their specific strengths and weaknesses compared to Chinese and Western firms?

SPEAKERS

Naina Lal Kidwai, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Country Head at HSBC India and Director of HSBC Asia Pacific

Matthew McCartney, Director of Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme at the University of Oxford

Shankar Narayanan, Director for UK and Ireland at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Geoffrey Van Orden, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Europe-India Chamber of Commerce (EICC)

Additiona video contributions by:

Swati Chawla, co-founder of the Liberal Youth Forum and Mentor for the British Council's "Beyond Borders" and "Global Changemakers" projects

Juan Miranda, Director General for South Asia Department at the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Moderated by Shada Islam, Head of Policy at Friends of Europe

Coffee break

SESSION II

INDIA ON THE GLOBAL STAGE

India is being courted as a strategic partner by the United States, the European Union and many of its Asian neighbours. As a leading member of the G20 and the World Trade Organisation, India also punches its weight in multilateral fora and is consulted on key global challenges including climate change, energy security and combating international terrorism. What is India’s role in the G20 and what are its key priorities in relations with the US and the EU? Will the conclusion of an EU-India Free Trade Agreement help to boost trade and investment ties? Is Europe a welcoming host to India’s global companies? How successful is India’s “Look East” policy and what is India doing to step up its engagement - especially as regards trade and investments - with Pakistan and other key neighbours in the region? Does anyone still believe in “Chindia” or are the two Asian economic giants mainly competitors and rivals? What role is the Indian diaspora playing in the development of the country and what is the secret behind the rise to power of Indian executives in leading Western companies?

SPEAKERS

Ummu Salma Bava, Director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Studies (JNIAS)

Ignacio Garcia Bercero, Director for Neighbouring Countries, US and Canada at the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission

Neena Gill, Vice President Corporate Affairs Europe and Asia Pacific at SAS

Luis Peral, Senior Research Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)

Maciej Popowski, Deputy Secretary General for Inter-institutional Affairs at the European External Action Service (EEAS)

Additiona video contributions by:

Swati Ramanathan, Co-founder of Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Moderated by Shada Islam, Head of Policy at Friends of Europe

End of summit and networking cocktail