Participants
Jairam Ramesh
Jairam Ramesh (born 9 April 1954) is an Indian economist and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a Member of Parliament representing Karnataka state in the Rajya Sabha. In July 2011, Jairam Ramesh was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers of India and appointed Minister of Rural Development and Minister (additional charge) of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. However, in the cabinet reshuffle in October 2012, he has been divested of the portfolio of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was previously the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests from May 2009 to July 2011
Prof. Rajendra Abhyankar
At the time of his 2005 retirement, Ambassador Rajendra Abhyankar was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium, and Luxembourg. His professional career includes 37 years of Indian diplomacy, serving as Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Syria, and Turkey, High Commissioner to Cyprus, and Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. He has also been India’s Consul General in San Francisco.
Since then, Ambassador Abhyankar has been working in the areas of academics, corporate philanthropy, consulting, and international Track II dialogues. He was director of the Centre for West Asian (Middle East) Studies and professor at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi; director and adviser for The Asia Foundation’s program in India; and president of the Hinduja Foundation in Mumbai.
Ambassador Abhyankar’s affiliation with Indiana University began in 2011 as a diplomat-in-residence at the Center for American and Global Security. His research interests include international relations and diplomacy, its practice and multiple dimensions. He is the author of two books and three monographs including Stuff Happens: An Anecdotal Insight into Indian Diplomacy. He has also co-authored three books on Indian foreign policy of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the Congo. He is currently researching two books on Indian diplomacy and on Syria.
Ambassador Abhyankar holds positions on a number of philanthropic and charitable foundations. He is chair of the Kunzru Centre for Defense Studies and Research, Pune, India. While at O’Neill he has initiated collaboration between educational institutions in India and with other countries.
Ambassador Abhyankar is a frequent speaker on international affairs at universities and think-tanks around the world and contributes regularly to newspapers and journals in international issues. He speaks French, Italian, Greek, Turkish, and Arabic in addition to four Indian languages.