Regional Connectivity Conference: South Asia in the Indo ... · monthly wall newspaper known as...

Regional Connectivity Conference: South Asia in the Indo-Pacific Context │November 01-02, 2018, New Delhi

1


2

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

OPENING PLENARY: THE INDO-PACIFIC PICTURE ........................................................................................ 6

Pradeep S. Mehta ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Satu Limaye ................................................................................................................................................ 7

Vikramjit Singh Sahney ............................................................................................................................... 8

Kenji Hiramatsu .......................................................................................................................................... 9

Kenneth I. Juster ....................................................................................................................................... 10

Vijay Gokhale ............................................................................................................................................ 11

PLENARY 1: SOUTH ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS FOR CONNECTIVITY IN THE

INDO-PACIFIC ............................................................................................................................................ 12

Sabyasachi Mitra ...................................................................................................................................... 13

Zaidi Sattar ............................................................................................................................................... 13

Rajan Malhotra ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Duncan Overfield ...................................................................................................................................... 15

PLENARY 2: BEST VALUE PRINCIPLES FOR PROCUREMENT AND INVESTMENT: HIGH STANDARDS,

TRANSPARENCY AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT ................................................................................................ 16

Arvind Mayaram ....................................................................................................................................... 17

Pooja Mehra ............................................................................................................................................. 17

Tomohiro Tanaka ...................................................................................................................................... 18

Todd Abrajano .......................................................................................................................................... 18

Timothy Kendall ........................................................................................................................................ 19

B. N. I. F. A. Wickramasuriya ..................................................................................................................... 19

PLENARY 3: WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN A REGIONAL CONTEXT HOW WOMEN’S

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT CONTRIBUTES TO REGIONAL INTEGRATION ............................................... 20

Ambika Sharma ........................................................................................................................................ 21

Sanjita Koijam ........................................................................................................................................... 21

Jahnabi Phookan ....................................................................................................................................... 22

Cheryl Williams ......................................................................................................................................... 23

Selima Ahmad ........................................................................................................................................... 23

PLENARY 4: FINANCING AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ................................................................ 25

Deepak Bagla ............................................................................................................................................ 26

Kezang ...................................................................................................................................................... 26


3

Amber Dubey ............................................................................................................................................ 27

William Pegues ......................................................................................................................................... 27

Md. Faruque Ahmed ................................................................................................................................. 28

Thilan Wijesinghe ..................................................................................................................................... 29

PARALLEL TRACK 1-A: LAND TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS - REGIONAL NETWORKS FOR TRADE AND

DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................................................................... 30

Rajeev Mehrotra ....................................................................................................................................... 31

Joseph George .......................................................................................................................................... 31

Paras Kharel .............................................................................................................................................. 32

Ibohal Meitei ............................................................................................................................................ 32

Thet Zaw Win ............................................................................................................................................ 33

Amit Kapoor.............................................................................................................................................. 33

Tapan Kumar Chakravorty ........................................................................................................................ 34

PARALLEL TRACK 1-B: MARITIME AND INLAND WATERWAYS CONNECTIVITY .......................................... 35

Bipul Chatterjee ........................................................................................................................................ 36

Sugeeswara Senadhira .............................................................................................................................. 36

Ellen L. Frost ............................................................................................................................................. 36

Tapas Paul................................................................................................................................................. 37

Shashi Bhushan Shukla ............................................................................................................................. 38

PARALLEL TRACK 1-C: CIVIL AVIATION - INFRASTRUCTURE, REGIONAL STANDARDS, AND MECHANISMS

FOR IMPROVEMENT AND COOPERATION ................................................................................................. 39

Sandeep Bahl ............................................................................................................................................ 40

Birendra Bahadur Basnet .......................................................................................................................... 40

Joyeeta Bhattacharjee .............................................................................................................................. 41

A. K. M. Manzur Ahmed ............................................................................................................................ 41

Usha Padhee ............................................................................................................................................. 42

PARALLEL TRACK 2-A: CYBER SECURITY - E-COMMERCE AND DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY ............................. 43

Nehal Sanghavi ......................................................................................................................................... 44

Vivek Srivastava ........................................................................................................................................ 44

Gitanjali Chaturvedi .................................................................................................................................. 44

Syed Almas Kabir ...................................................................................................................................... 45

PARALLEL TRACK 2-B: BORDER SECURITY - BALANCING SECURITY AND TRADE FACILITATION ................. 46

Anil Bamba ............................................................................................................................................... 47

Pritam Banerjee ........................................................................................................................................ 47

Nisha Taneja ............................................................................................................................................. 48


4

Duncan Hemajith Hettiarachchi ................................................................................................................ 48

Sandeep Kumar......................................................................................................................................... 49

PARALLEL TRACK 2-C: INTELLECTUAL SECURITY - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND TECH TRANSFER

.................................................................................................................................................................. 50

Sujeev Shakya ........................................................................................................................................... 51

Santanu Mukherjee .................................................................................................................................. 51

Shilpi Jha ................................................................................................................................................... 52

Parag Kar .................................................................................................................................................. 52

PARALLEL TRACK 3-A: FACILITATING CROSS-BORDER ELECTRICITY TRADE FOR GROWTH ........................ 54

Michael Satin ............................................................................................................................................ 55

Tilak Siyambalapitiya ................................................................................................................................ 56

Anil Rajbhandary ...................................................................................................................................... 56

Sanjay Poudyal ......................................................................................................................................... 56

Deepesh Nanda ........................................................................................................................................ 57

Deepak Amitabh ....................................................................................................................................... 57

Mohammad Hossain ................................................................................................................................. 58

PARALLEL TRACK 3-B: CREATING A LNG MARKET IN THE INDO-PACIFIC ................................................... 59

Kirit Parikh ................................................................................................................................................ 60

Ashwani Dudeja ........................................................................................................................................ 61

Taro Yanagidate ........................................................................................................................................ 61

T. N. Neelakantan ..................................................................................................................................... 61

Muhammed Aziz Khan .............................................................................................................................. 62

PARALLEL TRACK 3-C: RENEWABLE ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................... 63

Kerry Reeves ............................................................................................................................................. 64

Nirjan Rai .................................................................................................................................................. 64

Harsha Wickramasinghe ........................................................................................................................... 65

Sharmila Barathan .................................................................................................................................... 65

Mudassir Moin .......................................................................................................................................... 65

CONCLUDING REMARKS: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE ................................................................................. 66

Sudipto Mundle ........................................................................................................................................ 67

Satish Kumar Reddy .................................................................................................................................. 67

Damchae Dem .......................................................................................................................................... 68

David Ranz ................................................................................................................................................ 68

Bipul Chatterjee ........................................................................................................................................ 69


5


6

OPENING PLENARY: THE INDO-PACIFIC PICTURE


7

Pradeep S. Mehta

Secretary General CUTS International

Pradeep S. Mehta is the founder and Secretary General of the Jaipur-based Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International). Mehta's journey with CUTS began in the 80s with the launch of a Hindi monthly wall newspaper known as Gram Gadar. Established in 1983, CUTS International is a non-governmental organisation, engaged in consumer sovereignty in the framework of social justice and economic equality and environmental balance, within and across borders.

Today, with its Head Office in Jaipur (India), CUTS also has offices at Kolkata, Chittorgarh and New Delhi (India); Lusaka (Zambia); Nairobi (Kenya); Accra (Ghana); Hanoi (Vietnam); Geneva (Switzerland), and expanding its work to Washington D. C. (USA).

Satu Limaye

Director East-West Center, Washington D. C.

Satu Limaye is Director of the East-West Center in Washington. He is also a Senior Advisor at the CNA Corporation, a non-profit research and analysis organization located in Arlington, VA. He is the creator and director of the Asia Matters for America initiative, an interactive resource for credible, non-partisan information, graphics, analysis and news on US-Asia Pacific relations and the national, state and local levels; Founding Editor of the Asia-Pacific Bulletin series, an editor of the journal Global Asia and on the international advisory council of the journal Contemporary Southeast Asia.

Satu Limaye publishes and speaks on U.S.-Asia relations and is a reviewer for numerous publications, foundations and fellowship programs. Previously, he was a Research Staff Member of the Strategy and Resources Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and Director of Research and Publications at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), a direct reporting unit of U.S. Pacific Command.

He has been an Abe Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and a Henry Luce Scholar and Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo. He is a magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Georgetown University and received his doctorate from Oxford University (Magdalen College) where he was a George C. Marshall Scholar.


8

Vikramjit Singh Sahney

Senior National Executive Member of FICCI Former President of SAARC CCI Founder & Chairman of SUN Group

Vikramjit S. Sahney, Padma Shri, is a well-known entrepreneur, philanthropist and social worker. He is the Chairman of Sun Group and Honorary Consul General for the Republic of South Africa. He is also the Chair on several platforms including SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, China-South Asia Business Forum, BRICS Agri Sector Council from India. Besides, he is Vice President- International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Paris, India Chapter); Board Member of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) & Board of Trade, Govt. of India & Member of Steering Committee of FICCI & Managing Committee of ASSOCHAM and many more. His academic credentials include Masters in Economics and Business Administration.

Vikramajit S. Sahney has been playing a dominant role in capacity building and creating awareness within the South Asia region:

Hosted SAARC Economic Summit/SAARC Business Leaders Conclave that had the historic participation of commerce ministers of all member nations on any non-governmental forum.

Presentations to Finance Ministers of SAARC nations & SAFTA Committee of Exerts as also connecting with Secretaries of Home Ministry & funding agencies such as World Bank, ADB, IFC, FNST etc.

Direct Interactions & fruitful meetings with Prime Ministers of SAARC Nations with a clear focus on economic cooperation, trade liberalisation and people to people contact.

As Chair, Agri Sector of BRICS Council, Sahney has made observations and given presentation before the Heads of States of all BRICS Nations highlighting critical role of agriculture in ensuring food security & overall economic development of nations including employment led growth & poverty reduction. As Member, Prime Minister’s Indo-South Africa CEO Forum & Indo-Africa Business Council as also former Chair IOR-ARC, Sahney has been dedicatedly working at enhancing economic linkages between India and the member countries.

Sahney heads a successful business conglomerate Sun Group, with its overseas wholly owned subsidiaries, focused on fertilizers, minerals, agri-commodities and Joint Venture investments in countries including and not limited to South Africa, Egypt & Qatar. His other business interests include structuring and implementing counter trade and offset deals world-wide & transfer of technology and skills. ‘Sun’ is also 'Equity Partner' of Foskor, South Africa, one of world’s largest fertilizer giants, and Strategic Advisor to Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) which is a National Development Finance Institution of South Africa for bringing in investments into South Africa. The Group's business interests span almost the entire globe spanning across Middle East, Africa, China, Europe & Latin America. Sahney has been recognized internationally by the Heads of various States and organizations of repute for his philanthropic endeavours.


9

Kenji Hiramatsu

Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of India

Kenji Hiramatsu was appointed as Ambassador of Japan to India in November 2015 and to Bhutan in February 2016.

Hiramatsu graduated from Kyoto University. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador of Japan to India, he served as Deputy Vice-Minister for Foreign Policy from 2012 to 2015, where he was responsible for overall foreign policy making in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this capacity, he played a central role in Japan’s new landmark legislation for peace and security. He was one of the authors of the first National Security Strategy in 2014. He was also responsible for a whole range of issues related to the United Nations including the reform of the UN Security Council.

Hiramatsu also served as Director-General for Global Issues from 2011 to 2012 and was engaged in several important multilateral negotiations. He was a Prime Minister’s special envoy for climate change negotiations and contributed to establishing a new climate change framework.

After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979, Hiramatsu has dealt with a wide range of issues, which include national security, multilateral trade negotiations and global agenda such as development, climate change, health and women’s empowerment. He took important positions such as Deputy Director-General for Economic Affairs, Executive Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Director for Northeast Asia Division, where he was instrumental in realizing the historic visit of Prime Minister Koizumi to North Korea. His overseas postings include Paris and London.


10

Kenneth I. Juster

United States Ambassador to the Republic of India

Kenneth I. Juster was unanimously confirmed by the U. S. Senate on November 2, 2017 and appointed by the President on November 3, 2017 to be the 25th United States Ambassador to the Republic of India. Kenneth I. Juster has almost 40 years of experience as a senior business executive, senior law partner, and senior government official.

Kenneth I. Juster previously served from January to June 2017 as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. He was a senior member of both the National Security Council staff and the National Economic Council staff. He also served as the lead U.S. negotiator (“Sherpa”) in the run-up to the G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy.

Prior to that, Kenneth I. Juster was a Partner and Managing Director, from 2010-2017, at the global investment firm Warburg Pincus, where he focused on a broad range of issues, including geopolitical risk, global public policy, and regulatory matters relating to the Firm’s investment activities and portfolio companies. From 2005-2010, Kenneth I. Juster was Executive Vice President of Law, Policy, and Corporate Strategy at salesforce.com, a software company that pioneered cloud computing for business enterprises

Kenneth I. Juster served as U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001-2005, in charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security. In that capacity, he oversaw issues at the intersection of business and national security, including strategic trade controls, imports and foreign investments that affect U.S. security, enforcement of anti-boycott laws, and industry compliance with international arms control agreements. Kenneth I. Juster co-founded and served as the U.S. Chair of the U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group, and was one of the key architects of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership initiative between the United States and India. That initiative helped provide the foundation for the historic civil nuclear agreement between the two countries. Upon completion of his term at the Commerce Department, Kenneth I. Juster received the William C. Redfield Award, the Department’s highest honor.

From 1992-1993, Kenneth I. Juster served as the Counselor (Acting) of the U.S. Department of State, and from 1989-1992 as the Deputy and Senior Adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger. Kenneth I. Juster was one of the key officials involved in establishing and managing U.S. assistance programs to Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, including setting up the initial Enterprise Funds for the region. He also was part of the five-man team, led by Deputy Secretary Eagleburger, that traveled to Israel prior to and during the first Gulf War to coordinate with the Israelis regarding their posture during the war. Upon completion of his term at the State Department, Kenneth I. Juster received the Distinguished Service Award, the Department’s highest honor.

From 1981-1989 and 1993-2001, Kenneth I. Juster practiced law at the firm Arnold & Porter, where he became a senior partner and his work involved international arbitration and litigation, corporate counseling, regulatory matters, and international trade and transactions. Among his noteworthy cases was the representation of the Government of Panama-in-exile against the Noriega regime. The President of Panama subsequently awarded him the Vasco Núñez de Balboa en el Grado de Gran Cruz Decoration and Medal.


11

Kenneth I. Juster also has served as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2010, a Member of the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations from 2007- 2010, a Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in 1993, a law clerk in 1980-1981 to Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and at the National Security Council in 1978. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, the Chairman of Freedom House, and the Vice Chairman of the Asia Foundation. He is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Kenneth I. Juster holds a law degree from the Harvard Law School, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government (Phi Beta Kappa) from Harvard College.

Vijay Gokhale

Foreign Secretary of India

Vijay Gokhale joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1981. His previous diplomatic assignments include postings in Hong Kong, Hanoi, Beijing and New York. He has also served as Deputy Secretary (Finance), Director (China & East Asia) and Joint Secretary (East Asia) during his stints at the Headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs.

He was High Commissioner of India to Malaysia from January 2010 to October 2013, Ambassador of India to the Federal Republic of Germany from October 2013 to January 2016, and Ambassador of India to the People’s Republic of China from January 2016 to October 2017. He served as Secretary (ER) from October 2017 to January 2018.

Vijay Gokhale took over as Foreign Secretary on 29 January, 2018.


12

PLENARY 1: SOUTH ASIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS FOR

CONNECTIVITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC


13

Sabyasachi Mitra

Deputy Country Director India Resident Mission Asian Development Bank

Sabyasachi (Saby) Mitra is the Deputy Country Director of the Indian Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He has been with ADB for over 11 years and specializes mainly in development finance, policy planning, regional cooperation and integration and institutional partnerships. Prior to taking up this assignment, he was the Deputy Representative at the European Representative Office of the ADB in Frankfurt.

Earlier, Mitra was the Principal Economist in the South Asia Regional Department looking after economic sector research as well as taking the lead in conceptualizing and implementing ADB's innovative work on economic/industrial corridors in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He has co-authored two books, including a new publication – Bhutan: New Pathways to Growth (Oxford University Press 2016).

Zaidi Sattar

Chairman Policy Research Institute, Bangladesh

Zaidi Sattar started his career as a Lecturer in Economics, Dhaka University in 1968; joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1969 and served in various positions in the districts and the Ministries of Bangladesh since 1971. In mid-career, he left for the USA for higher studies in Development Economics.

In 1984, after completing his Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University, he joined the faculty of Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., in the Department of Economics and Business, where he taught until 1992. Returning to Bangladesh in June 1992, he served as World Bank Advisor on tariffs and customs reform to the National Board of Revenue (1992-95) and later as UNDP consultant Macroeconomist at the Planning Commission (1995-96).

He joined the World Bank, Dhaka Office, in 1996 where he served as Senior Economist, South Asia Region, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management until his retirement in September 2007. Between October 2007 and December 2008, he served as Vice-Chancellor, The Millennium University, Dhaka. Sattar is a founder Chairman of PRI which began its journey in December 2008.

Sattar has some 40 publications in international and national journals and numerous papers presented on trade policy, private sector development and growth issues at national and international conferences.


14

He is recognized as a leading expert on trade and tax policy issues in Bangladesh. He frequently offers policy advice to the Government of Bangladesh on trade, industry and macroeconomic policy issues. He also lectures on campuses, makes keynote presentations in seminars and workshops, and contributes op-ed pieces in local journals and newspapers. He is a life member of Bangladesh Economic Association, and Director of the following institutions: Southeast Bank Ltd., Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IIDFC), and Venture Investment Partners Bangladesh Ltd. (VIPB).

Rajan Malhotra

Advisor (HCI IC-Delhi Cluster) Larsen & Toubro

Rajan Malhotra’s present position is that of an Advisor, heading Larsen & Toubro’s construction business for Northern India, based in Delhi. He also looks after corporate affairs for the Construction business of the company. Malhotra has worked in Larsen & Toubro for the past 37 years. He has worked in various capacities for L&T, in India and overseas.

Larsen & Toubro is a USD 17 billion technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate, with global operations. One of the largest and most respected companies in India's private sector, L&T's products and systems are marketed in over 30 countries worldwide

He started L&T in Qatar and was its first chief executive. He is also the immediate past chairman of the Projects’ Export Promotion Council of India, under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India.

Pankaj Hazarika

Director (Connectivity & Security Division) Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation

Pankaj Hazarika has joined on 1st June 2017 as the first Director from India in the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat, Dhaka.

Hazarika joined the Indian Civil Service in September 2000. Prior to joining the Civil Service, he worked as a design engineer in ABB (Asea Brown Boveri) Ltd in the power sector. He holds a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, India. He also did a 10 months certificate course in Financial Management from National Institute of Financial Management, Faridabad, India.


15

Hazarika had worked in different capacities in CGDA (Controller General of Defence Accounts) and its sub-offices under Ministry of Defence, Government of India. He was the Finance Officer of the Indian Brigade contingent deployed in UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo from January 2007 to January 2008.

Before joining BIMSTEC, Hazarika worked as Director in Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi. He had also worked as Deputy Secretary in Department of Revenue and Deputy Secretary in Department of Expenditure in Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Madhav Belbase

Joint Secretary Water & Energy Commission Secretariat Government of Nepal

Madhav Belbase, obtained his M. Engg. (Water Resources Management) from Lueneburg University, Germany in the year 1996. Belbase has been conferred with DAAD Prize for his outstanding performance in the thesis submitted as the partial fulfilment of the M.Engg in 1996. He has over 28 years of working experience in various levels in the Government of Nepal. He has represented his country in several bilateral meetings on water resources with India.

Belbase has contributed many articles in irrigation journals of Nepal. He is a member of the Working Group on Institutional and Organizational Aspects of Irrigation / Drainage System Management (WG-IOA).Presently, Belbase is the Joint Secretary in Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Nepal and President, Nepal National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (NENCID).

Duncan Overfield

Deputy Head Asia Regional Programme Department for International Development of the United Kingdom


16

PLENARY 2: BEST VALUE PRINCIPLES FOR PROCUREMENT AND INVESTMENT: HIGH

STANDARDS, TRANSPARENCY AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT


17

Arvind Mayaram

Chairman CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition

Arvind Mayaram has a PhD in Finance. Presently he is an independent thinker and Chairman, CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition. He has earlier held the positions of Finance Secretary and Special Secretary in Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

He has also been the Alternate Governor for India on the Boards of World Bank, ADB and African Development Bank. He was India's finance deputy in G20 and BRICS. He was also on the Boards of the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities Exchanges Board of India.

He was India's chief negotiator for BRICS New Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Development Bank, and co-chair of the Framework Working Group of G-20. He spearheaded the establishment of the framework for mainstreaming Public Private Partnership in India and designed the first PPP module for delivering infrastructure in the rural areas.

He was Vice President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), formed under the aegis of UNCTAD, UNIDO, FIAS and MIGA for two terms in early 2000. He has been an investment promotion expert with the UNCTAD for several years and his expertise in the area of PPPs is internationally acknowledged.

Pooja Mehra

Senior Journalist

Puja Mehra is a Delhi-based journalist, currently on sabbatical. She had won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2008 and 2009 for her stories on the impact of the Lehman Brothers' collapse-triggered financial meltdown and the subsequent global economic downturn on India’s economy. She has been the Economics Editor of The Hindu.


18

Tomohiro Tanaka

Assistant Director (Development Assistance Policy Coordination Division) Bureau of International Cooperation Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Tomohiro Tanaka is an Assistant Director, Development Assistance Policy Coordination Division, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. He works on elaborating an international standard on quality infrastructure towards G20 Osaka Summit. He is also involved to ODA projects on Japanese Yen loan to South Asian countries as well as Japanese technical cooperation.

Todd Abrajano

Senior Advisor to the Director U. S. Trade & Development Agency

Todd Abrajano serves as the Senior Advisor to the Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency where he advises the Director on agency policy and operations to maximize ROI for the USTDA mission of increasing U.S. exports to emerging markets and growing U.S. jobs.

Before joining USTDA, Abrajano served as the Director of the Office of White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, he supported Secretary Wilbur Ross and other senior-level Commerce officials on policy and operational matters, and worked with the White House Presidential Personnel Office to coordinate the hiring of political appointees throughout the Department. In May 2017, Abrajano co-chaired the U.S. delegation, along with the Acting Under Secretary for International Trade, at the 15th Plenary of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue in Brasilia, Brazil.

Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Abrajano served as President of Turning Point Public Affairs which he founded in 2010. Through Turning Point, he focused on assisting corporate, non-profit, and political clients with legislative and regulatory grassroots advocacy and their strategic, communications and government relations needs. During the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign, Turning Point was retained by the Donald J. Trump for President campaign for which Abrajano served as the Missouri Communications Director.

Before founding Turning Point, Abrajano spent three years as a Vice President at VOX Global, a Washington D.C. based international public affairs firm, where he directed multi-state grassroots programs for a Fortune 10 client. Prior to joining VOX Global, Abrajano spent a year and a half at Fleishman-Hillard’s world headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, providing public affairs counseling to


19

Fortune 500 clients in the energy, financial services, and telecommunications industries. While at Fleishman, he was a key member of the team that was awarded PR Week’s 2009 Public Affairs Campaign of the Year award after a successful, multi-year campaign. Abrajano received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a concentration in international relations from Yale College.

Timothy Kendall

Economic Counsellor High Commission of Australia to India

Timothy Kendall is the Economic Counsellor at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi.

Prior to joining the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, he worked in a variety of roles across government and in the Australian Parliament, including at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of the Senate.

He also has a background teaching in the higher education sector in Melbourne. He holds a PhD from La Trobe University and a Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne and has published widely on the Australia–China relationship.

B. N. I. F. A. Wickramasuriya

Chairman National Procurement Commission Government of Sri Lanka

Nihal Wickramasuriya is a chartered engineer specialized in electrical power engineering and energy.

He has to his account 35 years of experience in electricity utility service including implementation of several national power projects and power sector reforms in electricity sector of Sri Lanka. He is presently the Chairman of National Procurement Commission of Sri Lanka, set up under Parliament to regulate public procurement.

Before being appointed as the Chairman of National Procurement Commission, he served as a Council Member of Sri Lanka Standards Institution, Vice Chairman of Ceylon Electricity Board after he retired from his service as the General Manager of Ceylon Electricity Board.


20

PLENARY 3: WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN A REGIONAL CONTEXT

HOW WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT CONTRIBUTES TO REGIONAL INTEGRATION


21

Ambika Sharma

Managing Director of India Operations U.S.-India Business Council

Ambika Sharma was the Director General – International, FICCI before her current position with USIBC. During her career of over three decades, she has led some of the most innovative and worthwhile endeavours of domestic and international teams including the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Oceania, Africa and Foreign Trade Policy Division. She steered the agenda for the Forum of Parliamentarians and special initiatives including economic diplomacy, projects with diaspora and strategic and multilateral policy matters.

She was responsible for taking forward FICCI’s international agenda and dovetailing it with domestic strategy. In this context, she works closely with the Government of India, representing FICCI at bilateral and regional level deliberations and leads conceptualization and implementation of mega programs at national and international levels.

In 2016, Sharma was appointed Member, Executive Council of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to represent industry and support BIS in the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and related matters.

Her academic background comprises a Post Graduate Degree in Business Economics from India’s prestigious Delhi University – where she graduated summa cum laude with a Gold Medal. She has participated in a number of Executive Training programs conducted by EU. She had also been nominated by FICCI for senior leadership management programs at institutions such as XLRI, Jamshedpur and has been engaged in the Women on Corporate Boards (WCB) initiative of FICCI.

Sanjita Koijam

Founder Manipur Creation Society

Sanjita Koijam is the founder and President of the Manipur-based NGO (Manipur Creations).

Sanjita Koijam is a Social Worker , a very successful Business advisor and a Visionary. She is also known for her executive team leadership ,marketing /product line development ,staff/ training policy development, client/ vendor relationship ,process improvement and socio economic development program developer.


22

At present she is taking up numerous socio economic development programme for the welfare of destitute women’ s of Manipur, executing number of program which will help people develop their skill and ability to use their own and community resources to resolve the socio economic crisis. Manipur Creations under her leadership have trained and provide employment to 2000 youth enabling more than 1000 to join reputed garment industries as worker and another 600 to work at their home working as Manipuri Creations Job workers. Manipur Creations Head office is at 3C Takyel Industrial Estate, Imphal west. Manipuri Creations–a garment manufacturing enterprises and Manipuri Creations poultry function as a part of Manipur Creations.

Jahnabi Phookan

Founder Jungle Travels India

Jahnabi Phookan is an entrepreneur in travel and tourism in Northeast India for nearly three decades. Director of Jungle Travels India and Assam Bengal Navigation Company, she and her husband started out in 1989 which has since diversified into the hospitality and river cruising sectors in India under the JTI Group (www.jtigroup.co.in).

Jungle Travels India is the first IATA agent of the entire Northeast and won the National Tourism Award for its efforts in inbound tourism. Assam Bengal Navigation Company pioneered Long Distance River cruising in the country in 2003. In its 15th year of operations this year, the company runs three ships and a houseboat on the river Brahmaputra, river Hooghly and the river Ganges. Their fourth ship will set sail end 2018. Assam Bengal Navigation Company won the National Tourism Award for this pioneering venture.

Their two lodges, the Diphlu River Lodge of Kaziranga National Park, Assam and the Bansbari Lodge in the Manas National Park are their contribution to sustainable tourism by the harnessing of the natural resources and human resources of the region.

In 2008 Phookan along with her entrepreneur partner opened a platform for the grassroots artisans and weavers of the Northeast, called KONYAK in Guwahati. KONYAK sought to provide weavers and artisans their regular source of income, guided them with design intervention and is an attempt at showcasing the best of the Northeast.

Today #KONYAKstore is well received and has three outlets, two in Guwahati and one in Dibrugarh. Their fourth outlet is coming up in Guwahati by end 2018. KONYAK’s creed is to provide the market linkage and forward integration that the grassroots artisans needs and with that vision, their Out Of Northeast India signature line was conceived.

As an offshoot of her years in ecotourism spun her social enterprise Tribal Heritage in 2003. This led to her effort to create a sustainable livelihood model for rural women by providing at their doorstep _quality yarn, design intervention and a fair trade payment for their produce. Reaching out to rural woman weavers through her trusted woman manager, also a weaver in her own right, led to groups of women happy and trusting in this collaboration.


23

In 2014, Jahnabi could structure the social enterprise into a Weavers Centre, in Kaziranga National Park. Promoted under #Lahe Lifestyle, what started as a shelter for one woman weaver, today houses many women weavers whose sarees and mekhelasadors are limited editions in natural dyes, traditional designs in elegant silks and cottons, all created in house. The work they produce on the basic looms heightens the awareness of the tourists to the rigours of the handloom and appreciation of the hand weaves of the women weavers of the Northeast.

Phookan is the National Vice President of FICCI FLO in April 2018. FICCI FLO has 15 chapters Pan India with a membership base of over 5500 women. In 2007, Phookan was one of the founder members of FLO Northeast as its Vice Chairperson. Phookan is Member of the National Board of Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) under the Ministry of Small Medium Micro Enterprises (MSME) since 2012. Phookan is an alumna of the US Government Exchange Program. She has been the US Citizens Warden for Assam since 2011. Jahnabi was the Co-Chairperson of CII (Assam State Council) as well as the founder member CII (Assam State Council). She is also the founder chairperson for IWN (India Women Network) in 2014.

Phookan is a graduate of Calcutta University, post-graduation from Indian Institute of Mass Communication IIMC and alumna of Indiana University USA.

Cheryl Williams

Director Program Office U.S. Agency for International Development, India

Selima Ahmad

President Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Selima Ahmad, President of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) is the developing world’s personification business woman who was acutely aware of the need for a national body, which represented the interests and supported the initiatives of women entrepreneurs. As a successful businesswomen herself with longstanding experience in the private sector, Ahmad took the initiative to form a Chamber of Commerce devoted exclusively to facilitating the advancement of women entrepreneurs.

Drawing on her business experience and involvement with several trade organizations, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Bangladesh Automobile Assemblers and Manufacturers Association, Bangladesh Handicraft Manufacturers and Exporters Association,


24

Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies, Ahmad convinced and mobilized women entrepreneurs, the government and development partners of the need for the creation of BWCCI.

Ahmad feels that with the achievements in women empowerment the developing economies will hugely benefit. The contribution of women entrepreneurs will help to achieving MDG goals and the impact will assist in alleviating poverty.

She has been working for the private sector development for last 28 years and helped to promote the development of more than 7,000 women entrepreneurs by planning, designing and facilitating different programs. She supports these initiatives by providing training, business counseling, credit linkages, acting as guarantor, and lobbying government and policy makers on behalf of women entrepreneurs across Bangladesh. She developed 600 grassroots women through training and access to information to ensure their active and increased participation in socio-economic and civil life and to broaden the opportunity of women’s social network. Despite her many accolades, Ahmad’s proudest achievements are the changes that are visible in the lives of the members due to the support of BWCCI.


25

PLENARY 4: FINANCING AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS


26

Deepak Bagla

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Invest India

Deepak Bagla is the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Invest India, the official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Government of India.

Bagla brings two decades of work experience starting with the World Bank in Washington DC, followed by a stint with a major Indian business conglomerate, where he was involved with corporate planning and establishing green field projects.

Bagla worked with Citigroup since 1989 in various roles including structured financial solutions for State Governments, Capital Markets, Financial Institutions and public/private Corporations.

From 1996 he was involved with global equity offerings by Corporations in Europe and Asia. He was a member of the Banking & Finance Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards (ISO affiliate 2005-06). He was also a member of the committee established by the Government of India to recommend corporate governance norms for independent directors (2006). Bagla has a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Economics from St Stephens College, Delhi University, and a Masters in International Trade & Finance and Diplomacy, from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC.

Kezang

Country Manager MultiRational Private Limited Thimphu Tech Park Limited, Bhutan

Kezang is the interim Executive Director of the Bhutan Industry Association for BPO, BIABPO, located at the Thimphu Tech Park. He currently consults for an FDI company in Thimphu. Kezang has been a public servant, then a management consultant, and a civil society project leader, successfully leading numerous national and international projects and programmes. He played a key role in the successful execution of the Bhutan Private Sector Development Project, of which the Thimphu Tech Park infrastructure was the main component.

Kezang holds a Bachelor of Electronics and Communication Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology - Roorkee, India, and a Masters in Communications Management (with distinction) from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, United Kingdom.


27

Amber Dubey

Partner KPMG India

Amber is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad and has a professional experience of over 26 years. Amber has been the transaction adviser to the government for greenfield PPP airports at Navi Mumbai, Mopa and Vizag.

He has assisted MoCA and AAI in several key engagements like the hive-off of AAI’s Air Navigation Services; feasibility analysis for Juhu and Rohtak Airports; business plan for satellite based air navigation (GAGAN) and establishment of Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU). Amber and his team are advising leading defence manufacturing companies, both global and Indian, on their growth strategy, M&A and supply chain issues.

Amber is Vice Chairman (Aviation) at US India Business Council (USIBC) and American Chambers of Commerce (Amcham); and a key member of the aviation committees of CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM. He works closely with industry associations connected to airlines, airports, MRO, air-cargo and general aviation.

Amber was honoured for ‘Valuable contribution to Indian aviation’ in 2012 by Ajit Singh, the then union aviation minister. In 2017, Amber was nominated by the Hon’ble President of India as member of the Academic Council of the Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU). In July 2018, Amber has been nominated as special invitee to the Ministry of Defence’ Capital Projects Review Committee (CPRC) that monitors progress on major modernization projects of the Indian armed forces.

William Pegues

Director Structured Finance & Insurance Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Bill Pegues leads the debt financing of energy and infrastructure projects in emerging and frontier markets at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is the development finance institution of the U.S. government. He has more than 25 years of international financing experience in the oil and gas, power, and petrochemicals industries, and lived and worked in the U.K., Asia, and Canada for 10 years.

Bill began his career in megaproject management with Exxon in London, and developed specialties in corporate and project finance at Mobil Corporation, ExxonMobil, and as an independent advisor. Before


28

joining OPIC, from 2009-11 he structured first-of-a-kind, utility-scale, solar and coal gasification project financings at the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs, including the second-largest PV solar plant ever constructed at the time.

In addition to structuring loan transactions, he is also a member of OPIC’s Country Risk Assessment Team; coordinates the OPIC South Asia portfolio; represents OPIC on policy committees at the White House and State Department; and has extensive experience briefing the U.S. Congress about OPIC’s portfolio.

Bill earned Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, where he published original research on computational aerodynamics for NASA, and an MBA in Finance from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business.

Md. Faruque Ahmed

Director General, Public Private Partnership Authority, Prime Minister`s Office, Bangladesh

Faruque Ahmed is Director General of Public Private Partnership Authority, Prime Minister’s Office, Bangladesh. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Management from University of Dhaka, and Masters in Management from University of Dhaka.

Ahmed has taught management and related subjects in different government colleges, and worked as Deputy Director in Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (World bank financed).

Ahmed also worked as Private Secretary to the Honourable Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, and as General Manager in Bangladesh Tourism Corporation and PD for a PPP project in Bangladesh Tourism Corporation.

Ahmed is presently working as Director General (Programming & Investment Promotion) in Public Private Partnership Authority, Bangladesh. He has certified Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Foundation issued by APMG International.


29

Thilan Wijesinghe

Chairman & Acting Chief Executive Officer National Agency for Public Private Partnership Government of Sri Lanka

Thilan Wijesinghe has an outstanding track record in corporate leadership and entrepreneurship, having generated significant shareholder wealth in businesses managed and co-owned, and in public service.

Thilan has three bachelors’ degrees in Industrial Engineering, Economics and Business Administration. He specializes in investment banking and real estate. Thilan was a co-founder of Asia Capital PLC, an investment bank, and upon exiting his shareholding, functioned as Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. Post his stint in Public Service, Thilan ran Sri Lanka’s two largest listed property companies, Asian Hotels Properties PLC and Overseas Realty PLC . He is a co-founder and Director of the award winning Ceylon Tea Trails Resort, Wow.lk Sri Lanka’s largest e-retailer and SLIIT, Sri Lanka's largest not-for-profit university.

Thilan possesses a passion for cricket and music. He has represented his school and country at cricket, having won national awards as a batsman. He played piano professionally while at University and has won the Golden Clef award for Folk Musician of the Year in Sri Lanka in 1991. In 2001, he produced a widely acclaimed musical album, Rites of Passage by Alien Accent (a band Thilan co-founded), comprising several of his own compositions. This has become the largest selling album of original music recorded in English in Sri Lanka.


30

PARALLEL TRACK 1-A: LAND TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS - REGIONAL NETWORKS FOR

TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT


31

Rajeev Mehrotra

Chairman & Managing Director RITES

Rajeev Mehrotra, FICWA has been the Managing Director of RITES Limited since September 1, 2011 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Mehrotra served as Director of Finance at RITES Limited since October 10, 2012 until September 01, 2013.

Mehrotra has over 25 years of work experience in various areas of finance including resource mobilization from domestic and international financial markets, financial risk management, treasury operations, borrowing and lending operations, financial accounting, taxation, investment of surplus funds, lending policies, accounting policies, corporate financial management information systems and project appraisal.

Prior to joining RITES, Mehrotra worked with PFCL between 1989 and 2007, where he last served as an Additional General Manager. He has also worked with NHPC Limited between 1982 and 1989. He has been Chairman of Tanzania Railway Limited since November 1, 2010. He has been Chairman and Whole Time Director of RITES Ltd. since October 11, 2012 and October 12, 2007 respectively.

Mehrotra is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, Kolkata. He has received training in financial management of power utilities from the Global Utilities Institute at the University of Samford, Alabama, USA and has also received advanced training in project appraisal and investment analysis from the Harvard Institute of International Development through their programme organized in conjunction with the National Institute of Financial Management, Faridabad. Mehrotra holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Rajasthan.

Joseph George

Senior Research Associate South and South-West Asia Office United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific


32

Paras Kharel

Research Director South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Kathmandu

Paras Kharel is an economist working in the areas of international trade and development. He has been with South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE)—a Kathmandu-based think tank—since 2007 and is currently its Research Director. He has a PhD in Economics (University of Melbourne) with specialization in international trade and applied micro econometrics.

Kharel’s research and publications span regional integration, gains from trade, application of structural gravity models, World Trade Organization issues, export competiveness, aid for trade, linkages between trade policy and industrialization, structural transformation, trade and development issues of least-developed and landlocked countries, and migration and remittances. He has consulted for national and international organizations. He has also worked as a journalist for five years.

Ibohal Meitei

Professor & Director Manipur Institute of Management Studies, Manipur University

Ibohal Meitei is a Professor and Director, Manipur Institute of Management Studies, Manipur University (A Central University), Imphal, India having more than 25 years of industry and academic experiences.

At present, he is a member of the Advisory Committee for Industrial and Social Development, Govt. of Manipur. He is also the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development, School of Social Sciences, Manipur University for the last five years. He earned his MBA from Aligarh Muslim University. Further, he completed FDPM from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and PhD in Management from Manipur University. He had nine PhD research scholars completed under his supervision. He conducts various MDPs and training programmes for working executives, teachers and budding entrepreneurs in and outside Manipur.

He was the Coordinator for the Academic Exposure Programme for the MBA Students of Monywa Institute of Economics, Myanmar held at Manipur University. He worked as course Director for UGC/ICSSR’s Capacity Building programmes of Faculty members of Universities/Colleges in NE India. He had more than 40 publications in various journals of repute and also he had presented papers in International and National seminars and conferences held at various premier institutions in India and abroad. He has authored and edited three books on Entrepreneurship Management, Cross Border tourism and India’s act East Policy. He travels widely in India and abroad specially Myanmar, China and ASEAN countries and has academic association with many institutions of repute.

His areas of interest include Strategic Management, Tourism, Cross Culture and Global Management.


33

Thet Zaw Win

Director Department of Highways Government of Myanmar

Amit Kapoor

Honorary Chairman Institute for Competitiveness, New Delhi

Amit Kapoor is President & CEO of India Council on Competitiveness; Honorary Chairman at Institute for Competitiveness, India and Editor-in-Chief of Thinkers.

He is the chair for the Social Progress Imperative and Shared Value Initiative in India and sits on the board of Competitiveness initiatives in Mexico, Netherlands, Italy & France and University of Vermont’s SEMBA Advisory Board.

In addition to being advisor to Thinkers50 and participant with the Global Solutions Network, he is an affiliate faculty for the Microeconomics of Competitiveness & Value Based Health Care Delivery courses of Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School and an instructor with Harvard Business Publishing in the area of Strategy, Competitiveness and Business Models.

He has been inducted into the Competitiveness Hall of Fame which is administered by Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. Amit is a Ph.D. in Industrial Economics and Business Strategy and has received the Ruth Greene Memorial Award winner for writing the best case of the year, by North American Case Research Association (NACRA). He has been invited by Kennedy School of Government & Harvard Law School, Harvard University; Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, World Economic Forum to present his views on various issues and themes like strategy, outsourcing and economic development.

Amit is the author of India City Competitiveness Report, India State Competitiveness Report, India Manufacturing Competitiveness Report, India State Sustainability Report, Livability Report et al.

He is also been a columnist with IANS, Business Insider, Hindu Business Line, Mint, Financial Express, Outlook Business & Governance Now in addition to penning down academic pieces. Based on his work three awards have been constituted within the country titled State Competitiveness Awards by Mint & Hindustan Times wherein the Chief Ministers are awarded; City Competitiveness Awards by ABP wherein City Heads are awarded and Institute for Competitiveness ¬Mint Strategy Awards wherein the corporates are awarded for their strategic acumen.

He chairs the jury and curates Porter Prize in addition to curating events like Competitiveness Forum, Thinkers 50 (India) etc.


34

Tapan Kumar Chakravorty

Chairman (Additional Secretary) Bangladesh Land Port Authority

Tapan Kumar Chakravorty joined Bangladesh Land Port Authority as Chairman on 18 February, 2015. He joined Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Cadre in 1984 regular batch. Prior to joining this organization as Chairman, he served as Member (Development), Bangladesh Land Port Authority. Before this he worked for Ministry of Primary & Mass Education, Ministry of Food & Disaster Management, and Ministry of Post & Telecommunication. He also served important positions in the field Administration of Sylhet, Jamalpur, Dhaka & Patuakhali Districts.

He obtained BSS (Hons.) and MSS in Sociology from Dhaka University. He has also participated in various training programs relating to public administration in home and abroad.


35

PARALLEL TRACK 1-B: MARITIME AND INLAND WATERWAYS CONNECTIVITY


36

Bipul Chatterjee

Executive Director CUTS International

Sugeeswara Senadhira

Director (Research & International Media) Presidential Secretariat, Sri Lanka

Sugeeswara P. Senadhira is Director (Research & International Media), President’s Office since 2013. He was the Associate Director of Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo (1998-2002, 2005-2006 and 2012-13).

Senadhira served as Minister Counsellor at the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi (2010-2012, Minister Counsellor, Paris, France (2007-2009), Sri Lanka Consul in Oslo, Norway (2002-2005) and Counsellor, New Delhi (1993-94).

A broadcaster-journalist, Senadhira was Editor of The Independent, Colombo, Editorial Consultant of The Weekend Express, Colombo and News Director of Sirasa, MTV/MBC, Colombo and Colombo Correspondent for Newsweek. He also worked as Head of the Sinhala Service of All India Radio, New Delhi.

Graduate of the University of Delhi, Senadhira is a Press Fellow of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. His publications include President Jayewardene's International and Domestic Policies (1985, Under Siege: Mass Media in Sri Lanka (1996), Pulse of a Nation (2006) and Asama Sama (Sinhala 2007).

Ellen L. Frost

Senior Advisor East-West Center, Washington D. C.

From 1995 to 2013, Dr. Ellen L. Frost was a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Her prior government jobs included Counselor to the U.S. Trade Representative (1993-95),


37

Deputy Assistant of Defense for International Technology and Economic Affairs (1977-81), Legislative Assistant in the U.S. Senate (1972-74), and various positions in the U.S. Treasury Department (1974-77). During the 1980s she worked for two multinational corporations.

In addition to her most recent book, Asia's New Regionalism (2008), and various book chapters, she is the author of Transatlantic Trade: A Strategic Agenda (1997) and For Richer, For Richer, For Poorer: The New U.S.-Japan Relationship (1987). She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies, and a director of the U.S. member committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (US-CSCAP).

Julian Michael Bevis

Senior Director-Group Relations-South Asia Maersk Line India Private Limited

Julian Michael Bevis, a Senior Director, Group Relations, South Asia, A.P.Moller-Maersk Group since October 2013 and MA from Oxford University had joined the company way back in 2005 as Area Line and Operations Manager for South Asia.

His career began as a Management trainee in October 1971 in London with Overseas Containers Limited (OCL), one of the first deep sea container operators. Throughout his career, Bevis has worked in a number of management positions in Europe and overseas along with being the chairman of the Container Shipping Lines Association of India.

Tapas Paul

Lead Environment Specialist The World Bank Group

Tapas Paul is currently lead environment specialist with the World Bank, in the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice.

He joined the World Bank in 2000, and has worked in several countries in South Asia, East Asia, Latin America, and Central Asia and Eastern Europe regions. Prior to the World Bank, he had worked with the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA, New Delhi), Rail India Techno-Economic Services (RITES, New Delhi), and Lea International Ltd (Toronto/New Delhi).

His professional experience cover a wide range: architecture, urban and regional planning, environmental planning and engineering, water resources management and planning, traffic and


38

transport planning, rural roads and highway planning and engineering, coastal zone and marine area management, tourism management, forest and watershed management; and the scale of work varying from policy/strategic planning and institution building to action plans and engineering design projects.

He led the World Bank’s work on integrated management of coastal zones in India (2006-14), cleaning of the river Ganga (2009-12), conservation and development of the Sundarbans (2009-17), management of water and natural resources of northeast India (2006-09), fisheries in Maldives (since 2015), and forestry in Bangladesh (2016-17).

Tapas Paul received his master’s degree in planning (with specialization in regional planning) from the School of Architecture and Planning, New Delhi; and his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal. He has authored more than 60 technical reports, papers and articles.

Shashi Bhushan Shukla

Member (Traffic) Inland Waterways Authority of India


39

PARALLEL TRACK 1-C: CIVIL AVIATION - INFRASTRUCTURE, REGIONAL STANDARDS,

AND MECHANISMS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND COOPERATION


40

Sandeep Bahl

Program Director U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program

Sandeep has over 25 years of business aviation experience, much of which has been in the Asia Pacific Region. He is the Director for US-India Aviation Program (ACP) since past two years and has held key leadership roles executing Market access and entry, Developing Sales Channels and Revenue Generation, Building Marketing, Finance and Operations related infrastructure for a number of major Airlines and related industries. Sandeep has a diverse cultural understanding and has worked in various companies from US, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Maldives and China.

Sandeep holds an MBA and post graduate degree from Oxford Brookes University in the UK, as well as an undergraduate degree from the Institute of Hotel Management in New Delhi, India. He has also completed the China Managers Development Program from prestigious Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing and Executive development program from University of Technology, Sydney.

Sandeep is a visiting professor of aviation economics and marketing at Civil Aviation University of China for its Aviation MBA program and at Fudan University for MTA program. A member of Australian Institute of Company’s Director, Sandeep previously acted as Chairman of Board of Airline Representatives in China, International Advisory Chair for Travel Industry Association of USA and as Co-Chair of subcommittee on Aviation Economic Regulation – under US-China Aviation Cooperation Program to drive sustainable economic and service performance for Chinese Aviation Sector.

Birendra Bahadur Basnet

Managing Director Buddha Air, Nepal

Board Chairman Surendra Bahadur Basnet was born in Dingla, Bhojpur on 1 January 1929 into a simple Nepali family. After moving to Biratnagar where he received his primary and higher secondary education he was sent to the Varanasi Hindu University in India which was the custom of those days. He completed his LLB, BSC and then his MA from the University before returning to Nepal to practice law.

Basnet was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court of Nepal in 1964. Two years later, the then King Mahendra appointed him the First Election Commissioner of Nepal with the responsibility of conducting the country’s first general election. He was later appointed Minister of Education and Law and the Minister for Finance and Industry. In 1970 he became the first chairman of the Press Council of Nepal.

He served in various government commissions as chairman and/or a member until 1990. After more than four decades of an illustrious career, Basnet retired from civil service to manage his privately


41

owned Bahumukhi Krishi Farm in Dangihat, (Morang). However, not being one to lead an easy retired life, he formed Buddha Air with his sons and has been leading the organization successfully as its Chairman since 1996.

Birendra Bahadur Basnet, eldest son of Surendra Basnet initiated Buddha Air together with his father, brother and wife, and is successfully running the company as its Managing Director. He is also a member of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal since 2008.

Joyeeta Bhattacharjee

Senior Fellow Observer Research Foundation

Joyeeta Bhattacharjee is a Senior Fellow with ORF's Neighbourhood Regional Studies Initiative. She specialises in India’s neighbourhood policy, especially the eastern arch; Bangladesh’s domestic politics and foreign policy; border management; conflict and conflict resolution in India’s Northeast; and gender concerns.

Joyeeta has published many articles in various newspapers and reputed journals. Some of her recent publications include her papers titled "Bangladesh Army’s Corporate Interest" (2010), "India-Bangladesh Border Management: The Challenge of Cattle Smuggling” (2013), and "India-Bangladesh Relations: Ten-point agenda," (August 2014).

In 2014 she participated in Water Future-II, a dialogue for young scholars and professionals of South Asia, simultaneously held in Kolkata and Dhaka and jointly organised by Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, and Dhaka University.

Joyeeta holds a PhD from Assam University, Silchar. The title of her thesis was ‘Conflict Resolution and Peace: New Dimensions in Applied Ethics’. She completed her Master of Arts in Philosophy from the same university in 1999. She was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship by the Indian Council for Philosophical Research.

A. K. M. Manzur Ahmed

Deputy Director (Planning) Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh

Ahmed graduated in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET), Dhaka in 1986.


42

He has been working in CAAB in Communication Engineering Division since 1987 at different airports of Bangladesh. Before joining in his current position, he served in the position of Chief Communication Maintenance Officer of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Dhaka, Deputy Director (Radar & Nav-Aids), Communication Division, CAAB Headquarters.

He had also served as the Project Director of Bangladesh Air Traffic Management Upgradation Project. He had been trained in the field of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) both home and abroad. He had also been trained in PPP Capacity Building and Financial Modelling in PPP.

Ahmed has participated in different meetings, seminars, workshops and training programs in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, UAE, Australia, Germany, France, Portugal and USA.

Usha Padhee

Joint Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation Government of India

Usha Padhee joined the Indian Administrative Service(IAS) in 1996. Padhee has been recognised as Grade-A District Magistrate and Collector for 2003-04 by Govt. of Odisha; Received “Anjali Award” for outstanding services for the welfare of differently abled persons by Swabhimaan, the state resource centre and UNICEF (2005). Under her able guidance as District Magistrate, Dhenkanal district achieved the distinction of ISO 9000 certification for effective and efficient implementation of the Govt. programmes (first in Odisha and second in the country) (2006).

Padhee was nominated for Prime Minister’s award for excellence in administration for the year 2006 by Government of Orissa. She has received National Award by Hon’ble President of India twice for promoting non-conventional energy in Schools of Odisha for the years 2013 and 2014. She has also formulated Training Policy for the Education Administrators to enhance their Skills and Competencies focusing on Ethics.

She was felicitated with prestigious Prananath Samman-2013 for outstanding Public Service and contribution to Odia Culture. Padhee was the co-chair of India- Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Trade, economic Co-operation in Civil Aviation Sector since October 2015. She was the joint Leader of the Indian Delegation to Berlin, Germany (2015) and Honolulu, USA (2016) on Civil Aviation Security.


43

PARALLEL TRACK 2-A: CYBER SECURITY - E-COMMERCE AND DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY


44

Nehal Sanghavi

Senior Advisor, Innovation & Partnership U. S. Agency for International Development

Nehal Sanghavi is working with USAID/India as the Senior Advisor for Innovation and Partnership in the Directors Office. Nehal has earlier worked as Chief Operating Officer with Gateway House, an independent foreign policy think tank based in Mumbai as Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to that, he was with Dasra, a Mumbai- based strategic philanthropy advisory firm for twelve years as General Counsel. He is a lawyer by training. Nehal earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a concentration in law from Trinity University and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence with a concentration in International Law from the University Of Texas School Of Law in Austin.

Nehal is fluent in English, Spanish, Gujarati and Hindi. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time traveling, scuba diving, and engaging in other adventure sports. Nehal is fluent in English, Spanish, Gujarati and Hindi. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, scuba diving, and engaging in other adventure sports.

Vivek Srivastava

Regional Manager Sales – Cyber Security Cisco India & SAARC

Gitanjali Chaturvedi

Senior Social Development Specialist The World Bank Group

Gitanjali is a development professional who lives between three countries and two continents. Born and raised in India, she has worked in South and Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with the World Bank and different UN agencies in areas as diverse as tourism, gender, maternal and child health, polio


45

eradication, energy and climate change, and employment, enterprise development and finance for women.

A published author, Gitanjali has written books on subjects as diverse as polio, ecotourism and cocktails. Her other interests include hiking, travel, poetry, drama and cartography.

Syed Almas Kabir

President Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services

Syed Almas Kabir is the Chief Executive Officer of MetroNet Bangladesh Limited since 2014.

His previous designations include: Senior Vice President, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) (2013-2014); Vice President, Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) (2013-2015); Honorary Treasurer, Bangladesh-Malasiya Chamber of Commerce & industry (BMCCI) (2014-2016); Vice President, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) (2012-2013); Co-convener, DCCI Standing Committee on Telecom, IT, ICT and Intellectual Property Rights (2013); Chief Operating Officer, MetroNet Bangladesh Limited (2006-2013); Treasurer, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) (2010-2012); National President, Junior Chamber International (JCI) Bangladesh (2003); President, American Alumni Association (AAA) (2004—2006); President, St. Joseph Old Boys Association (2006—2008); Founder & Advisor, Association of IUB Alumni (AiA) (2000—); Asst Professor, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) (1994—2004); Director, Computer Center, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) (1994—2003); Dean, Student Affairs, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) (1994—1999); Registrar-in-charge, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) (2000—2004); Vice President, City University (2004); Director, Career & Professional Development Services, North South University (2005); International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), Dept. of State, Govt. of USA (2002); Public Relations Award, Camara Junior de Puerto Rico, Copenhagen, Denmark (2003).

He is also the Joint Secretary, America-Bangladesh Friendship Society (2003—) and endorser of BASIS SoftExpo 2005, City Group, WHO, etc. in several TV commercials.


46

PARALLEL TRACK 2-B: BORDER SECURITY -

BALANCING SECURITY AND TRADE

FACILITATION


47

Anil Bamba

Chairman Land Ports Authority of India Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

Anil Kumar Bamba is member of India Trade Service of 1986 Batch. Presently working as chairman in the land ports authority of India (LPAI), having 30 years’ experience of trade and industry, particularly in foreign trade and involved in formulation and implementation of foreign trade policy, aside scheme and export promotion as executive director/secretary general of councils and development commissioner of special economic zones.

Bamba has had a distinguished career as: Development Commissioner, Sri City SEZ (Chennai) & Zonal Development Commissioner of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, South Zone, Government of India (2011–2013); Director (Foreign Trade), Department of Commerce, New Delhi (2008-2011); Secretary General/Deputy Secretary General, (Gurgaon) Apparel Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Textiles (2006-2008); Assessor & Collector, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (2005-2006); Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, DGFT, Department of Commerce (2004-2005); Executive Director, Synthetic Rayon Textiles (Mumbai) Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Textiles (1999-2004); Regional Development Commissioner, Iron & Steel, (Mumbai) Ministry of Steel (1997-1999); Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade, DGFT, Department of Commerce (1993-197); and Asst. Director General of Foreign Trade, DGFT, Department of Commerce (1987-1993).

Pritam Banerjee

Logistic Sector Specialist Asian Development Bank

Pritam Banerjee brings several year of experience in the area of logistics operations, trade facilitation, and trade policy. He is currently is a Consultant with the Asian Development Bank in the capacity of a Logistics Sector Specialist.

Prior to ADB, Banerjee was Senior Director for Public Policy with the Deutsche Post DHL group, responsible for South Asia. In this role he was responsible for the Deutsche Post DHL group businesses engagement with governments and its agencies on regulatory affairs and policy, and developing solutions for group businesses and their clients.

Banerjee has served in the past as the Head of the Trade Policy, Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Trade Policy Division and with the World Bank in Washington DC, where his work focused on issues related to Trade Facilitation and Trade in Services.


48

Banerjee is a member of the National Trade Facilitation Steering Committee, and was most recently a special invitee to the Committee on Ease of Doing Business Reforms constituted under the Ministry of Commerce as a part of Prime Minister Modi’s initiative on reforms. He serves as the executive member of FICCI Logistics Taskforce, and led FICCI’s interaction on GST related issues relevant to the transport and logistics sector focusing on operational aspects of GST implementation.

He also serves as a guest faculty at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Foreign Services Institute (FSI), and NACIN (National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics).

Banerjee has a Ph.D in Public Policy, and Masters and undergraduate degrees in Economics. He has been extensively published on issues related to international trade, regional integration, regulatory reforms, logistics and connectivity, and trade facilitation.

Nisha Taneja

Professor Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations

Nisha Taneja has a Ph.D in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her broad areas of interest include WTO issues, regional trade, industrial economics and institutional economics.

She has been engaged in several research projects that have been sponsored by Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Finance, Asian Development Bank, UNIDO, the London School of Economics, Indian Corporate sector, and the South Asia Network of Economic research Institutes (SANEI). Some of her recent research work includes informal trade in South Asia, trade facilitation and non-tariff barriers.

She has also worked extensively on various aspects of India-Pakistan trade. She has served on committees set up by the Government of India on Informal Trade, Rules of Origin and Non-tariff Barriers. Her research papers have been published in several journals and have been disseminated widely in India and abroad.

Duncan Hemajith Hettiarachchi

Deputy Superintendent Sri Lanka Customs, Government of Sri Lanka

Duncan Hemajith has a post graduate degree in Master of Business Administration in Customs and International Trade from the Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Hemajith has


49

a BSc. IT. (Hons) degree from Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology. He also has a BSc. in Physical Science from University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Sandeep Kumar

Principal Additional Director General Directorate of Analytics and Risk Management (Customs and GST) Department of Revenue, Government of India


50

PARALLEL TRACK 2-C: INTELLECTUAL SECURITY - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND TECH

TRANSFER


51

Sujeev Shakya

Chair Nepal Economic Forum

Sujeev Shakya is the Founder CEO of beed management; a Nepal based international management consulting and financial advisory firm that works in Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Rwanda and US. He writes and speaks extensively on business, development, management and leadership.

He is author of the bestseller Unleashing Nepal – Past, Present and Future of the Economy (Penguin Revised 2013). He is currently a columnist with The Kathmandu Post. He is also the Chair of the Nepal Economic Forum that acts as a private sector interface to development and is Secretary General of Himalayan Consensus Institute based in Hong Kong that works on mainstreaming alternative development paradigms.

Santanu Mukherjee

Founder & Head Ex Lege Chambers

Santanu Mukherjee is an Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, a Commercial Mediator accredited with IIAM and founder of Ex Lege Chambers (ELC) in New Delhi. A boutique law chambers, ELC is involved in Dispute Resolution, ADR and Policy Advisory practice.

With more than 20 years of experience, earlier Santanu had been Partner and Head of International Trade and Policy Practice at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices and earlier was a Senior Attorney for India & South Asia with Qualcomm, a global technology MNC. He is involved in advising clients on varied contractual and contentious matters to both individual and institutional clients as well on policy strategy.

Santanu is also actively engaged in trainings in different law domains, communication skills, advocacy and negotiations for lawyers and senior executives.

Santanu holds LL.B. from Calcutta University and Masters in International law from World Trade Institute, Bern University, Switzerland. He has also been a British Chevening Scholar at York, UK, Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for IPR & Competition Law, Munich & twice Fellow of Global Salzburg Seminar, Austria.


52

Shilpi Jha

IP Specialist for South Asia United States Patent & Trademark Office

Shilpi Jha, senior counsel, is a policy and legal advisor on all aspects of intellectual property (IP) issues for India and other South Asian countries. Jha serves as lead IP specialist for Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. She is responsible for monitoring, consulting, advising, analyzing, and reporting on IP in those countries.

Jha started her career at Bhasin& Co. as a litigator at the Delhi High Court. Prior to joining the USPTO, she was the IP lead at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), where her primary responsibilities included providing input to the government of India on policies related to IP protection and enforcement. She coordinated with national-level committees for IP at CII and organized national and international workshops on IP matters.

Jha holds a B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. in statistics, and an LLB, all from Delhi University.

Parag Kar

Vice President, Government Affairs - India & South Asia Qualcomm Inc.

Parag Kar is Vice President, Government Affairs of Qualcomm India and South Asia, and has been the company’s key regulatory and policy interface for the Indian subcontinent and the region since January 2005. His role includes forging lasting relationships with regulators, industry and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), apart from helping establish Qualcomm’s leadership position as a pioneer and innovator in mobile wireless technologies globally and in India by creating a sphere of influence among key government, industry, media and civil society champions.

Kar is a key member of Qualcomm India’s leadership team, and works closely with all stakeholders to realize the company’s vision to take the benefits of mobile broadband to a larger base of Indian consumers, in particular to a billion Indians and beyond with advanced mobile wireless technologies like 3G and LTE.

Kar has been working closely with the DoT, industry bodies and telecom operators to ensure that policies and regulation are aligned with international best practices and the benefits of global experiences can be realized in an Indian context. Kar has over 22 years of experience in the telecommunications industry.

Prior to his appointment at Qualcomm, he was responsible for business development of broadband convergence technologies (both wireless and wireline) at Lucent Technologies in India. Before that, he was with the Indian Railways and responsible for the successful completion of various telecom projects in the Railways. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from


53

the Regional Engineering College Bhopal and a Master’s Degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.


54

PARALLEL TRACK 3-A: FACILITATING CROSS-BORDER ELECTRICITY TRADE FOR GROWTH


55

Michael Satin

Director Clean Energy & Environment Office U.S. Agency for International Development

Michael Satin joined the USAID Foreign Service in early 2005. He is trained as an ecologist (B.S. - San Francisco State University) and applied economist (M.Sc. - University of West Virginia). He has worked in international affairs and development for 22 years, in both short and long-term assignments in Senegal, Mali, Benin, Chad, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, China, Southeast Asia (Thailand and ASEAN), Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guinea, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India.

Michael has extensive professional experience in economic and community development, complex emergency environments, food security and livelihoods development. In several of his professional roles he has worked in conflict resolution, rule of law and economic governance.

He has substantial experience in regional economic integration and trade capacity building and has worked extensively with multinational bodies, including ECOWAS, SAARC, ASEAN and APEC.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a technical advisor for agriculture in the USAID Africa Bureau, Office of Sustainable Development where he supported the marketing of agricultural commodities under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), including cotton and sustainable tree crops and the Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa, IEHA. As a part of the Presidential Feed the Future Initiative during his tenure with the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA), Michael was a leader of the first regional approach to addressing food insecurity and resiliency in Asia.


56

Tilak Siyambalapitiya

Energy Consultant Sri Lanka

Tilak Siyambalapitiya carries 30 years of experience in the energy sector of Sri Lanka, in the region and in east Africa. He is the President, Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association (2004-6). He was the Chief Engineer (Generation Planning) Ceylon Electricity Board (1989-94). He was also the Principal Engineer (Load Forecasting and Generation Planning) at Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (1994-1998).

Since 1996, Siyambalapitiya has hands-on experience in conducting tariff studies for embedded generation in Sri Lanka and Tanzania, and continues to be engaged in studies on a wide range of issues related to pricing, grid interconnection and regulation of small to medium scale grid connected power plants. Siyambalapitiya has conducted numerous consulting studies since 1988 using planning tools, and most recently, for the calculation of long-run marginal cost of utilities for a World Bank study on beneficiary incidence of cross subsidies in electricity tariffs.

Siyambalapitiya has served in various committees of the Government and the Ministry of Power and Energy on honorary basis, the most relevant recent assignment being a member of Renewable Energy Policy Committee (2013). Additionally, he has been a member of the committee to review power sector reforms (2005), the national energy policy committee (2004-2008) and the working group of renewable energy (2005-8). He also teaches energy efficiency, demand management and conservation to Master’s Degree students. He is a contributing editor of Sri Lanka Energy Audit Manual - 1999, 2000, 2013.

Anil Rajbhandary

Deputy Managing Director Nepal Electricity Authority

Sanjay Poudyal

Deputy Resident Country Director – Nepal Millennium Challenge Corporation


57

Sanjay is the Deputy Country Director for Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US Government agency based in Washington DC. As part of his Deputy role for the Nepal country mission, Sanjay provides oversight to the MCC’s $500 million grant investment in Nepal (further augmented by Nepal Government’s investment of additional $130 million), building electricity transmission lines and maintaining road infrastructure. The transmission line network being built by the investment has a regional element to it, with a cross-border transmission interconnection between Nepal and Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, to enhance energy trade in the region.

Sanjay has close to two decades of corporate experience in the US and in Nepal. He started his career with over 10 years at IBM in Silicon Valley, California and later served as CFO of a commercial bank. He was then tapped by the UK Government to help the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) execute energy projects in the country worth $3 billion that were at an impasse for decades due to geopolitical complexities.

He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with distinction from University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, India.

Deepesh Nanda

Chief Executive Officer Gas Power Systems, South Asia, General Electric Power

Deepak Amitabh

Chairman & Managing Director PTC India Limited

Deepak Amitabh is an alumnus of St. Stephen's college, Delhi. He formerly worked with the Government of India as an officer of the 1984 batch of Indian Revenue Service (IRS). He came to PTC on deputation in September 2003 and served as CFO initially and then become the CMD of the Company in October, 2012.

He has more than 30 years of work experience in audit, finance and resource mobilization. In his decade of service to PTC, he has provided leadership roles to varies function of the PTC Group, including to finance & resource mobilization, coal trading initiative, debt and equity investments in energy assets, managing long term and short term power sale and purchase portfolio, investor relations etc.


58

Before joining PTC, he held various position in IRS including acted as Financial Advisor to Director General Naval Projects, Mumbai, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, New Delhi and Joint Commissioner of Income Tax Mumbai. As head of Finance in the Company, he has closely associated with fund raising programme (Initial Public offer) of PTC in the year 2004.He spearheaded fund raising through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) deals for Rs.1200 Cr. in January 2008 & for Rs. 500 Cr. in May 2009, respectively. He played a key role in formation of PTC India Financial Services Ltd. (PFS). He has also been instrumental in setting up the fuel intermediation services offered by PTC to various IPPs.

Mohammad Hossain

Director General Power Cell, Power Division Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Government of Bangladesh


59

PARALLEL TRACK 3-B: CREATING A LNG MARKET IN THE INDO-PACIFIC


60

Kirit Parikh

Chairman Integrated Research and Action for Development*

Kirit Parikh was honoured with Padma Bushan by the President of India in March 2009. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India. Parikh has a Doctor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master's Degree in Economics from MIT, USA. He has been a Professor of Economics since 1967. He was the Chairman of the Integrated Energy Policy Committee, Planning Commission. He was a Member of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of the Prime Ministers of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar, V.P.Singh and Rajiv Gandhi. In the past he had also been a member of the National Committee for Environmental Planning & Co-ordination, the National Committee on Science and Technology and the Fuel Policy Committee.

In 2003 he was made honorary life member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (on an average given to two persons a year in the world). He had been president of The Indian Econometric Society and Gujarat Economic Association. He is on the governing board of many development research Institutes in India. He has also been Chairman of some of these. He is the Chairman of the Indian National Committee (India NMO Committee) for the India-IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) Programme.

Parikh had been in the past on the Board of Directors of a number of major industrial firms and financial institutions. Among these are Indian Petro-Chemicals Limited, Life Insurance Corporation, Industrial Development Bank of India and State Bank of India. In 1978 he was given the "Vikram Sarabhai Award" for Systems Analysis and Management. In 1999 he was given the "Visveswaraya Award" by the Engineers' Foundation in Kolhapur. He is also a recipient of "Nayudamma Award" for contribution to the welfare of mankind through developments in the fields of Economics & Energy in February 2005.

He was honoured as the most distinguished and illustrious alumni of the decade from India by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in September, 2007. He was conferred the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur in September, 2007. He was felicitated as one of the engineering personalities by the Indian Engineering Congress, December 2006.

In 1997-98, on sabbatical leave from the IGIDR where he was Founder Director from 1986 till 2000, he was Special Economic Adviser to the Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York. From 1980-86, as Program Leader of the Food and Agricultural Program of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria, he directed a research programme involving 300 person years of efforts of more than 100 researchers from around the world. From 1960-80, he was Professor of Economics (and sometimes Head) of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), New Delhi. From 1969-71, as Director of Program Analysis Group (PAG), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, he set up PAG to provide economic, operation research and management advice to different units of the DAE. From 1964-67 he was a Research Associate at the Center for International Studies, MIT.


61

Ashwani Dudeja

General Manager Shell Energy India

Ashwani Dudeja has nearly 24 years of marketing and business development experience in various roles within the Gas industry in India, Europe and Asia. He is currently working as General Manager for Shell Energy India, a 100% Shell-owned entity, covering marketing and trading of natural gas and downstream LNG.

He moved to this role from Hazira LNG, where he was the head of Marketing & Commercial department. Prior to this, Ashwani has worked with BG Group in various roles, the last one being of LNG Trading Manager in Singapore, where he was responsible for short term LNG trading covering key markets in Middle-East, India, South-East and North Asia.

Taro Yanagidate

Vice President Diamond Gas International Pte Ltd – Mitsubishi Corporation

T. N. Neelakantan

Senior Vice President Petronet LNG Limited


62

Muhammed Aziz Khan

Chairman Summit Group

Muhammed Aziz Khan is our Executive Chairman. He was appointed to our Board on 22 July 2016 and is one of the pioneers in the power industry of Bangladesh with more than 36 years of experience. He is the founder and chairman of the Summit group of companies and is currently the chairman of several Summit entities, including Summit Shipping, Summit Port, Summit Prakasa Asia Private Limited, Summit Communications Limited and Summit Asset Limited. Khan was previously the founder and chairman of Trans World Infrastructures Pte Ltd from 1988 to 2010, and founder of chairman of Summit Infrastructures Pte Ltd from 1988 to 2017.

Khan is also a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors, Singapore Recreation Club and the Bangladesh Institute of Capital Market. In addition, he is also the President of the Bangladesh Associate of Public Companies, Honorary Consul General of Finland in Bangladesh, World Federation of Consuls (FICAC), and a Consular Member of the Consular Corps in Bangladesh.

Khan graduated with a Masters of Business Administration in 1980 from the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, and a Bachelor of Arts in 1974 from Jaganath College, Dhaka.


63

PARALLEL TRACK 3-C: RENEWABLE ENERGY

OPPORTUNITIES


64

Kerry Reeves

Deputy Director Office of Environment and Economic Growth U. S. Agency for International Development, Bangladesh

Kerry Reeves serves as the Deputy Director for USAID/Bangladesh’s Economic Growth Office, leading USAID’s environment, energy and economic growth programs in Bangladesh. Dr. Reeves has worked with USAID for over nine years, serving in the Philippines, Pacific Islands and Southern Africa prior to joining USAID/Bangladesh in 2017. Dr. Reeves is a biologist, holding a PhD from the University of Missouri.

Nirjan Rai

Executive Director Policy Entrepreneurs Inc.

Nirjan has over 10 years of experience working in research and development in Nepal and the United States. Prior to PEI, from 2014 to 2017, he led Niti Foundation, a Nepali not-for-profit policy institute, where he designed and supervised multiple programs on disputes in natural resource management and transboundary water governance. He also led key research projects, including a diagnosis of Nepal’s policy process and political economy analysis of reforms in Nepal’s electricity sector.

Between 2013 and 2014, he was with the Asian Development Bank where he contributed to their Country Partnership Strategy for Nepal and led the assessment of Nepal’s policy and institutional framework in supporting sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and the effective use of development assistance. He also served as their focal person for private sector development initiatives in Nepal.

Between 2009 and 2013, he was with The Asia Foundation where he managed research and programs on political process, local governance, and economic development.

Nirjan has worked with the Institute for Higher Education Policy, a non-profit research institute focusing on access and quality of higher education in the United States, and with the Analysis, Research, Planning Corporation (now Ankura Consulting), economic and management consulting firm that provides statistical, economic and financial analysis, strategic advice.

Nirjan has a Master in Public Policy degree from George Mason University, Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennington College, Vermont. He is also a United World College alum and an Asia Foundation Development Fellow


65

Harsha Wickramasinghe

Deputy Director General Demand Side Management, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority

Sharmila Barathan

Senior Vice President-Corporate Affairs & Policy General Electric

Sharmila Barathan leads the Policy, Regulation & Government Affairs function for the businesses & John F Welch Technology Center. She shapes policy, regulation & supports transactional advocacy for GE Power, Water, Oil& Gas, and Grid businesses for the South Asian region; leads the same function for Healthcare, Aviation, and Rail Transportation for South India & Sri Lanka; & promotes R&D, innovation policy for India.

She is a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.She has over 25 years of international experience in energy policy, regulation & climate change - geographically ranging from Europe to South Asia to East Asia; business portfolio covering thermal power generation, renewables, nuclear, water, oil & gas, grid, healthcare, aviation, transportation; institutionally ranging from national governments to multilaterals (UN, IPCC).

Barathan joined GE as Regional Market Development Manager, GE Energy for Africa-India-Middle East in 2005 & appointed Director-South Asia Energy Policy in 2007 & later Director-Corporate Affairs for South Asia in 2012. Worked as a consultant to organizations including the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland during 2003-2005. She worked at The Energy Resources Institute during 1991-2003 & was reviewer at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change & Member of the UN IPCC Steering Group. She has international experience ranging from working in Germany & India; field assignments in Republic of Korea, Thailand, Bhutan, China, Laos, North Korea &Costa Rica.

Graduated with a Masters in International Affairs from Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, Masters in Econometrics from University of Madras & B.Sc. Mathematics from Stella Maris College, University of Madras. Trained in Stanford University & completed a Management Program for Women Entrepreneurs at IIM-B.

Mudassir Moin

Managing Director Rahimafrooz, Bangladesh


66

CONCLUDING REMARKS: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE


67

Sudipto Mundle

President, CUTS International Emeritus Professor, National Institute of Public Finance & Policy, New Delhi

Sudipto Mundle is Emeritus Professor and a Member of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi.

He also continues to serve on the boards of several organisations. 2008 - 2014 He was earlier a Member of India’s Fourteenth Finance Commission, which laid out the framework of federal fiscal relations that is now under implementation. He was also a Member and acted as Chairman of the National Statistical Commission, a Member of the erstwhile Monetary Policy Advisory Committee of the Reserve Bank of India, and a Member of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Economic Growth. He also served on corporate Boards of Directors. 1994 – 2008.

Sudipto Mundle spent much of his earlier career in various capacities in the Asian Development Bank, where he retired as a Director in the Strategy and Policy Department in 2008. 1971 – 1994. Prior to joining ADB, Sudipto Mundle served in several academic institutions, including the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum; and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, where he was RBI Chair Professor.

He was on secondment as Economic Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Government of India, 1986 to 1988. He went to school at St. Xavier’s, Kolkata, and graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He has a Ph.D in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.

He was a Japan Foundation scholar in Tokyo, Japan, 1979; a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, the Netherlands, 1984; a Fulbright Scholar at Yale University, USA, 1985; and Joan Robinson Memorial Fellow at King’s College, Cambridge University, U.K., 1991.

Mundle is a Life Member of the Indian Econometric Society. He has published several books and a large number of papers in professional journals in the fields of public finance, macroeconomic policy, development economics and governance. He is also a newspaper columnist.

Satish Kumar Reddy

Consultant Regional Cooperation & Trade Facilitation, Asian Development Bank


68

Damchae Dem

Founder & Chief Executive Officer Bhutan Association of Women Entrepreneurs

From potato chips to steel, Damchae Dem began life making and selling potato chips from home to augment her husband’s income bringing up their four children.

She pioneered construction steel in Bhutan selling under the brand Perfect TMX TMT. Her company Pelden Enterprise Ltd manufactures Ferror Sillicon selling in neighbouring India and Europe under Bhutan Ferror Industries Ltd and is FDI partner in GIC-Re the only Reinsurance Company in Bhutan.

Pelden is big on CSR and has pioneered BPO industry in Bhutan training and employing 100 youth in a unique handholding program eventually gifting the youth the business free of cost.

She founded Bhutan Association of Women Entrepreneurs working towards empowering Women and Unengaged Youth through entrepreneurship as CEO. Currently she is working tirelessly to establish Bhutan’s first Women Chamber, A Women’s Development Forum creating a conducive platform empowering unorganized sector mostly women to network and join the country’s mainstream economy.

David Ranz

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of South & Central Asian Affairs U. S. Department of State

David J. Ranz is a member of the Senior Foreign Service.

A career diplomat since 1992 focused on the Arab and Muslim world, Mr. Ranz is currently Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives) in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

He was formerly Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Pakistan, and prior to that, Director of the Office of Pakistan Affairs. Ranz previously served as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, and Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt; and as Spokesman and Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. Mr. Ranz has also served in Rabat, Morocco; Jerusalem; Karachi, Pakistan; and Washington, DC.


69

Ranz was the 2004 recipient of the U.S. Department of State’s Herbert Salzman Award for International Economic Performance, and 2013 runner-up for the James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence.

Ranz has also received five State Department Superior Honor Awards, and a U.S. Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Public Service from General (ret.) David Petraeus.

Ranz graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, and received a Master in Public Policy degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 2005.

Bipul Chatterjee

Executive Director CUTS International

Bipul Chatterjee is an Indian economist with more than 20 years of experience on issues related to international trade and development, especially on political economy of trade and economic policy reforms, particularly pro-poor aspects of reforms. Currently, he is Executive Director of CUTS International, a Jaipur-based international non-governmental organisation working on several subjects of public interest. Prior to joining CUTS International, he worked at several economic policy think tanks such as National Council for Applied Economic Research, and Institute for Economic Growth. He has participated and represented the organisation in more than 100 events on WTO issues, regional integration, and trade and development issues at national, regional and international level including WTO Ministerial Conferences.


70

Regional Connectivity Conference: South Asia in the Indo ... · monthly wall newspaper known as...

Documents

Transcript of Regional Connectivity Conference: South Asia in the Indo ... · monthly wall newspaper known as...