6th MEA-PIC Asia Economic Dialogue to be held in Pune from February 20-22

Pune, 17th February 2025: The Asia Economic Dialogue 2025, the annual geoeconomics conference organised jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Pune International Centre (PIC), will be held in Pune from Thursday, February 20, to Saturday, February 22, 2025.

Themed ‘Economic Resilience and Resurgence in an Era of Fragmentation’, this is the 6th edition of the AED jointly organised by the MEA and PIC. The 3-day, 12-session international conference will bring together more than 40 speakers including academicians, policymakers, and industry experts from nine countries — Australia, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Ministerial participation will further amplify the discourse, facilitating an exchange of transformative ideas and strategies.

The conference will kick off with Opening Remarks by eminent scientist Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, FRS, President, PIC, and Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce, Government of India, delivering the Inaugural Address.

The Inaugural Session will feature a conversation between Amb. Gautam Bambawale, Convenor, AED 2025, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and former Ambassador to China and Bhutan, and Shri Piyush Goyal; followed by a Fireside Chat with Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon Group, hosted by Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, distinguished expert on India’s consumer economy and author of Lilliput Land – How Small is Driving India’s Mega Consumption Story.
The Valedictory address on Day 3 will be delivered by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways; Information and Broadcasting; Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.

Over three days, AED 2025 will address the complexities of economic fragmentation and identify actionable pathways for resilience and resurgence. Through nuanced discussions on the challenges and opportunities, the conference aims to empower nations, industries, and individuals to navigate the evolving geoeconomic landscape.

Among the pivotal geoeconomic topics that will be explored at AED 2025 are Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, African Transformation, Blue Economy, the International Monetary System, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and Climate Change.

The conference will feature Fireside Chats and sessions on ‘Re-imagining Leadership in the Era of AI and Automation’; ‘African Transformation: From Aid to Investment’; ‘Survival Before Sustainability: An Agenda for this Decade’; ‘Collaboration on Cyber Resilience: An Economic Imperative’; ‘International Monetary System: Challenges and Reforms’; ‘Unlocking Growth Potential by Empowering MSMEs’; and ‘Blue Economy in India’s Extended Neighbourhood’.

DAY 2
Day 2 will begin with a Fireside Chat with Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and MD, Bajaj Finserv, hosted by Ms. Rama Bijapurkar. The session on ‘Re-imagining Leadership in the Era of AI and Automation’ will be chaired by Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Executive Chairman and Founder, 5F World. The panellists for this session are Mr. Jaspreet Bindra, Founder, AI&Beyond and The Tech Whisperer UK; Mr. Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder and Group Chief Executive, Fractal; Vice Chairman, Nasscom; Mr. Romaine de Laubier, MD and Senior Partner, BCG X; Regional Chair for Asia Pacific; Global Digital Leader of Build for the Future; and Ms. Naiyya Saggi, Founder, Edition (edt.); Group Co-founder, Baby Chakra.

The session on ‘African Transformation: From Aid to Investment’ (Day 2) will be chaired by Amb. Gautam Bambawale and will have as panellists H.E. Dr. Anil Sooklal, High Commissioner of South Africa to India; Mr. Akshay Mathur, Senior Director, Asia Society Policy Institute; Dr. Renu Modi, Professor and Director, Centre for African Studies, Mumbai University; and Prof. (Dr.) Hebatallah Adam, Professor of Economics and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (Master’s Programme), Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), O.P. Jindal Global University, India. This will be followed by a Fireside Chat with Mr. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, Mastercard India; and former Chairman, State Bank of India, hosted by Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Executive Chairman and Co-founder, 5F World.
The session on ‘Survival Before Sustainability: An Agenda for this Decade’ (Day 2) will be chaired by Mr. Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman, MECF Limited, and will have as panellists Dr. Dhruba Purkayastha, Director, Growth and Institutional Advancement, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); Dr. Arjun Karki, Executive President, Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN); former Ambassador of Nepal to the US, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico; Mr. S. Raghupathy, Senior Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); and Mr. Kaustubh S. Gosavi, Senior Program Manager, Sustainable Cities and Transport, World Resources Institute (WRI), India.

The session on ‘Collaboration on Cyber Resilience: An Economic Imperative’ (Day 2) will be chaired by Mr. Dinanath Kholkar, former VP, TCS; Research Track Lead of Science, Technology, and National Innovation Ecosystem, PIC. The panellists are Ms. Ashwini Panse, MD, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE India) and Chief Risk Officer, North American Clearing Houses; Mr. Dattatraya Gokhale, Senior Manager, Bosch Global Software Technologies; Mr. Matthias Yeo, Co-founder and CEO, CyberXCenter, Singapore; and Mr. Alexandre Ferreira Gomes, Research Fellow, EU and Global Affairs Unit, Clingendael.

The last session on Day 2 is on ‘International Monetary System: Challenges and Reforms, chaired by Prof. Ajay Shah, Co-founder, XKDR Forum. The panellists are Mr. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), MEA, Government of India; Dr. Amita Yadwadkar, Asst Professor, Dept of Economics, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU); Mr. Radha Shyam Ratho, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India; and Ms. Anita Prakash, Director, Partnership, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

DAY 3
Day 3 will begin with the session on ‘Unlocking Growth Potential by Empowering MSMEs’, chaired by Mr. Prashant Girbane, Hon. General Secretary, PIC; Director General, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA). The panellists are Mr. Ateesh Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India; Mr. Reinhold von Ungern-Sternberg, Director, International Markets, BVMW; and Mr. Tomo Kawane, Senior Researcher, Keio University, Japan.

The session on ‘Blue Economy in India’s Extended Neighbourhood’ (Day 3) will be chaired by Dr. Manasi Singh, Asst Professor, School of National Security Studies, Central University of Gujarat (CUG), and will have as panellists Ms. Subhashini Abeysinghe, Research Director, Verité Research, Sri Lanka; Mr. Puneet Agrawal, Addl Secretary (Indian Ocean Region), MEA, Govt of India; Dr. (Cdr.) Arnab Das, Founder and Director, Maritime Research Centre (MRC), Pune; and Mr. Greg Johannes, Chair, Blue Economy Cooperative Research, Australia.

We warmly invite you to cover the event and look forward to welcoming you at the AED 2025 venue.

EVENT DETAILS:
DATE: Feb. 20 (4:00PM-7:00PM), Feb. 21 (10:00AM-6:45PM), Feb. 22 (10:00AM-1:00PM), 2025
VENUE: JW Marriot, Senapati Bapat Road, Shivajinagar, Pune-411053