From the 2008 global financial crisis to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the world has experienced a series of tremendous shocks in recent years. With relations between the United States and China deeply strained and cracks showing in the U.S.-led international order, the distribution of global power and the alignment of key players are transforming before our eyes. This era of upheaval comes with greater expectations from India, the most populous democracy in the world, which is on the path to becoming a leading power. In a new book entitled The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World, India’s External Affairs Minister H.E. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar argues that the current global picture calls for India to develop a bolder approach to foreign affairs and create stronger relationships with all major powers.

In this special Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) event, Minister Jaishankar will be in conversation with ASPI President the Hon. Kevin Rudd to discuss the global challenges confronting India today, as well as the policy approaches India will take to tackle them.

Speakers

H.E. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is External Affairs Minister of India. Prior to his appointment to his current position, he was President of Global Corporate Affairs at Tata Sons Private Limited. Before joining Tata, he served as India’s Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018, where he played a key role in negotiating the India-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977 and held key roles during his career, including as High Commissioner to Singapore (2007-2009), and as Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2000-2004), China (2009-2013), and the U.S. (2013-2015). He has also served in other diplomatic assignments in embassies in Moscow, Colombo, Budapest and Tokyo, as well in the Ministry of External Affairs and the President’s Secretariat.

The Hon. Kevin Rudd AC is inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007 to 2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010 to 2012). He is Chair of the Board of the International Peace Institute in New York, and Chair of Sanitation and Water for All – a global partnership of government and non-governmental organizations dedicated to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6. He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and the Paulson Institute, and a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Nicholas and Sheila Platt Endowment for Public Policy.