Webinar on India-EU Relations 2.0: New Synergies & New Horizons

On May 8, India and the 27-nation European Union transformed and accelerated their multifarious relations at a virtual Leader’s Summit. The India-EU Leaders’ Meeting has raised the bar for this crucial partnership between the world’s leading democracies.

In a unique gesture that underscored the rising importance of India in the EU’s foreign policy calculus, the Leaders’ Meeting was the first-ever summit between the two largest democratic spaces in the 27+ 1 format – the second time the EU had such a 27+1 summit with any country after the US.

Building on the historic India-EU summit, India Writes Network and India and The World magazine will organise a webinar entitled “India-EU 2.0: New Synergies & Horizons” on May 18, 2021 (Tuesday, 6-7.30 pm IST; 2.30 pm-4 pm CET).

The webinar will focus on key outcomes of the first India-EU digital summit in 27 +1 format and map the road ahead for this mutually enriching and empowering partnership. The webinar will also explore new initiatives to scale up visibility and projection of the multi-faceted India-EU partnership across the spectrum.

“The EU-India summit resulted in a string of defining steps that’s going to scale-up India-EU ties to a higher stratosphere. This 2.0 version of the India-EU strategic partnership will include, among others, a transformational and balanced FTA, enhanced international coordination and a landmark connectivity partnership that involves partnering in joint infrastructure projects in third countries,” said Manish Chand, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network and India and The World magazine, ahead of the webinar.

“The burgeoning partnership between the two normative powers dedicated to promoting rules-based international order will not only benefit over 1.8 billion people living in India and EU countries, but also the region and the world,” said Mr Chand, also president of Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a think tank focused on geopolitics and global affairs.

India-EU 2.0: New Synergies & Horizons

Date: May 18, 2021; Tuesday

Time: 6 pm-7.30 pm IST

2.30 pm-4 pm CET

For participation, registration is mandatory:

https://forms.gle/dpAa1nw8V2dHc32i9

The weblink for joining the webinar will be sent after registration.

SPEAKERS

H.E. Ugo Astuto has been the Ambassador of the European Union to India since October 2019. He entered the Italian Diplomatic Service in 1991. His career in the Italian Foreign Service spans experience in the Embassies in Nairobi and London (including as alternate Director for Italy in the EBRD[1]European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), in the Permanent Representation in Brussels and in the Embassy in Delhi, where he served as Deputy Head of Mission.

From February 2013 until July 2016, he was seconded to the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, first as Director for South and South East Asia and then as Deputy Managing Director/Director for Asia and the Pacific. From July 2016 to September 2019, he was the Principal Director for Asia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome.

H.E. Ambassador Vincenzo De Luca is Italy’s Ambassador to India. Before arriving in India, he served at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as Director-General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation since February 2016, after having served for two years as Deputy Director-General for the Internationalisation of the Italian Economic System and of the autonomous local authorities. He entered the diplomatic service in 1989. Minister de Luca has then been appointed in Khartoum, Tunis, Paris (at the permanent Representation to the OECD) and in Shanghai, where he served as Consul General for four years.

During his career, Mr Luca progressively specialized in the internationalisation of the economic system. He served as Diplomatic Advisor of the Ministries of Industry, Transports and Economic Development, and as Vice President for Institutional and International Relations of major Italian companies such as ENI and ENEL.

Sandeep Chakravorty is Joint Secretary (West Europe) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Prior to this, he was Consul General of India in New York and served as India’s Ambassador to Peru. He has served in India’s missions in Madrid, Bogota and Dhaka. In the Ministry of External Affairs of India, he served on several desks including working as Press Relations Officer as well as Private Secretary to Minister of State for External Affairs. He also served in the Eurasia Division dealing with Central Asia and in the East Asia Division dealing with China, Japan, Koreas and Mongolia.

H.E. Freddy Svane is Denmark’s Ambassador to India, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He has been an ardent admirer of India and has spoken eloquently about India’s status as a rising global power. He was earlier posted as Denmark’s Ambassador to India from 2010-2015. Since joining the Danish Foreign Service in 1982, Mr Svane has held a string of prestigious diplomatic posts, including as Denmark’s Ambassador to the EU and Japan.

H.E. Ambassador Romana Vlahutin is Special Coordinator and Ambassador at Large for Connectivity in the European External Action Service. A career diplomat, before joining Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999, she worked as an analyst for the Bassiouni UN Commission for former Yugoslavia, the UN Tribunal (ICTY) in The Hague and the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC. As a Croatian diplomat she served in embassies in Washington (Head of Political Section) and Belgrade (Deputy Ambassador), and as the Head of Strategic Analysis and Policy Planning at the MFA in Zagreb (2000-2004). From 2010-2014 she was the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Croatia. She was posted as the EU Ambassador to Albania (2014-2018). She is a graduate of Zagreb University (Faculty of Philosophy) and Harvard University (J.F.Kennedy School of Government). She is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

H.E. Carlos Pereira Marques is Portugal’s Ambassador to India.

Manish Chand is Founder-CEO of India Writes Network, an emerging think tank and media-publishing platform focused on international affairs, and TGII Media Private Limited. He is Editor-in-Chief, “India and the World,” a magazine-journal focused on international affairs. He is President of Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a think tank focused on geopolitics and policy analysis. An alumnus of the prestigious St Stephen’s College, he has authored and edited many books including “Journeys Across Continents: A New India on the Global Stage,” the first-of-its-kind book that maps Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s journeys to various foreign countries. He has worked closely with India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on a host of publications, research reports and public diplomacy projects. A widely-travelled journalist and foreign policy analyst, he has accompanied India’s Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Vice-President to over 60 foreign countries on bilateral visits.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.

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