THE AMBASSADOR SERIES

‘The Ambassador Series’ – a unique initiative to interact with the heads of Foreign Missions in India. As a key mission to contribute towards development of India’s foreign relations and facilitate India’s outreach, the initiative seeks to engage Ambassadors and heads of foreign missions to facilitate expansion of India’s multi-dimensional ties with countries across the world. It is also to explore and understand the culture, government, economy and daily life of people in important countries.

The Series is a platform for business, academia, and other key stakeholders and agencies to channelize this energy by understanding the key trends and dynamics across the world, enhance India’s global engagements and contribute towards creating a stronger and more resilient nation.

Given the current situation of COVID -19 pandemic, the session under this series have been held virtually. Earlier it was held in person. It is a 60-minute virtual session focusing on the current relations with India and the world and the opportunities and challenges ahead.

It builds strong interaction with public with a feature of Question & Answer section which provides a voice to all participants to raise their concerns, views, ideas and issues. Again, it offers a platform for genuine and flexible conversation with Ambassadors about any issues of the world.

The Ambassador series offers the space for countries to increase mutual understanding, trust and also to reinvigorate untapped areas and enrich the ones that stand crucial to take the country’s growth forward.

So far, the Ambassadors of France, Singapore, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the European Union, Indonesia and High Commissioners of Australia and Canada among others have spoken under this series.

Green Strategic Partnership: Re- energising India Denmark Relations | 16 June 2022

The ‘Green Strategic Partnership’ between India and Denmark came into being on 28 September 2020 for making both the country greener and eco-friendly. The partnership has multiple layers that help both the countries to cooperate and engage in dialogue. The core elements of this Partnership are water, energy, climate and green finance. This special session with H.E. Mr. Freddy Svane, Ambassador of Denmark to India, chaired by Ms. Indrani Bagchi, Chief Executive Officer, Ananta Centre had provided insights into new avenues for cooperation between the two countries.

The Philippines: India's New Indo-Pacific Partner | 5 th April 2022

The relationship between India and the Philippines was centred on trade and commerce, political cooperation, and people-to-people ties; and now, albeit lately, it has expanded to Defense, Security, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, and advanced technologies such as AI. The recent and historic Brahmos deal between the two countries clearly outlines the strengthened and forward-looking bilateral relationship. This special session with H.E. Mr. Shambhu S. KumaranAmbassador of India to Philippines, chaired by Mr. Pramit Pal ChaudhuriColumnist and Former Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times and Visiting Fellow, Ananta Aspen Centre had provided insights into new avenues for cooperation between the two countries.

India-UAE Relations: Breaking New Grounds | 10 February 2022

The relationship between India and the UAE is strongly established in millennia of cultural, religious, and economic interaction. The two countries’ relationship and trust have evolved and flourished tremendously in recent years. In this setting of common values and strong cooperation, the Ananta Centre supported by TATAs held a digital session on “India-UAE Relations: Breaking New Grounds” addressed by H.E. Dr Ahmed A R Albanna, UAE Ambassador to India. This session was chaired by Mr. K. P. Nayar, Columnist and Strategic Analyst.

Ambassador of EU to India H.E. Mr. Ugo Astuto's on 'Ambition and Action in the Fight Against Climate Change and Biodiversity' | 26 October 2021

The European Union and India, the third and fourth largest carbon emitters in the world respectively, have a huge responsibility and role to play in the battle against climate change. This important session with H.E. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India, chaired by Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, Ananta Centre and Chairman of the Board, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited, ahead of COP26, explores the mutual cooperation from both sides as they prepare to fulfil their roles as major stakeholders in the international climate diplomacy process at Glasgow. The agenda includes existing and new avenues of collaboration like energy transition across sectors in both geographies, mobilising finance, adaptation and resilience, and more.

UK – India: Evolution to Transformation | 27 August 2021

As India and UK have made an historic commitment to strengthen the relations via the ‘2030 Roadmap’, the future of UK-India relations is positive due to two major factors- abundance of political will and a coincidence of ambition on both sides. This important session with H.E. Mr Alex EllisBritish High Commissioner to India chaired by Ambassador Y K SinhaChief Information Commissioner of India had explored the new avenues of future cooperation for India and UK in the field of Defense and security, health, trade, and science and Technology.

India – Uzbekistan relations: Growing coherence and convergence | 28 July 2021

Under the backdrop of the growing relationship between India and Uzbekistan and a significant contribution to the restoration of the historical activity of Central and South Asian regions, this session, chaired by Ambassador Ashok SajjanharFormer Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden & Latvia and Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Centre had H.E. Dilshod AkhatovAmbassador of Uzbekistan to India and H.E. Manish PrabhatAmbassador of India to Uzbekistan provide insights into the dynamics and potentials of India – Uzbekistan relations.

The Pacific Alliance | 15 July 2021

During this global uncertainty and challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, both India and the Pacific Alliance agreed to strengthen their cooperation with an aim to reduce the overall impact of the pandemic. This important session with Mrs. Gloria GangteJoint Secretary, Latin American & Caribbean, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, H.E. Mariana Pacheco Montes, Ambassador of Colombia to India, President Pro-Tempore Pacific AllianceH.E. Juan Angulo M., Ambassador of Chile to IndiaH.E. Federico Salas LotfeAmbassador of Mexico to India, and H.E. Cartos Rafael Polo CastanedaAmbassador of Peru to India chaired by Ambassador Deepak BhojwaniFormer Ambassador of India to Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba and Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Centre had explored the new avenues of future cooperation for India and the Pacific Alliance Group in the field of Science and Technology, Small and Medium Enterprise sector, IT and e- governance.