IRC 2018 - SESSION III

Chair

Amb (Retd.) Ranjit Gupta

Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi;
Former Indian Ambassador to Yemen, Venezuela, Oman, and Thailand

Ranjit Gupta is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer. He was a member of the Prime Minister's National Security Advisory Board for the term 2009-2010. He is currently Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi.

Sponsored by MEA, he led an Indian team for a series of interactions with Gulf academics in Dubai, New Delhi and Riyadh, on India GCC Relations, 2008-2010. He chaired an MEA Task Force in 2011 and again in 2014 on the 'Arab Spring and its Implications for India: Policy Recommendations.'

During his 39 year career with India's Ministry of External Affairs he was successively India's Ambassador to Yemen (North), Venezuela (concurrently Consul General to the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba), Oman, Thailand (also Permanent Representative to ESCAP) and Spain (concurrently Ambassador to the Principality of Andorra) and finally was Head of India's unofficial Representation in Taiwan from May 2000 to May 2003.

He has co-edited three books: Gupta, R. (2013). GCC-India Relations. Geneva: Guld Research Foundation; Gupta, R. (2013). India and the Gulf: What Next? . Gulf Research Centre Cambridge; Gupta, R. (2014). A New Gulf Security Architecture: Prospects and Challenges for an Asian Role. Berlin & London: Gerlach Press.

Speakers

Amb (Retd.) Talmiz Ahmad

Former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman
Ram Sathe Chair in International Studies, Symbiosis International University

Talmiz Ahmad served as Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia twice (2000-03; 2010-11); Oman (2003-04), and the UAE (2007-10). He was also Additional Secretary for International Cooperation in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2004-06, and Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi, in 2006-07. In July 2011, the Saudi Government conferred on him the King Abdul Aziz Medal First Class for his contribution to the promotion of Indo - Saudi relations.

After retirement from Foreign Service in 2011, he worked in the corporate sector in Dubai for four years. He is now a full-time academic and holds the Ram Sathe Chair in International Studies, Symbiosis International University, Pune.

He has published three books: Ahmad, T. (2005). Reform in the Arab world: external influences and regional debates. India Research Press, Ahmed, A. (2011). Children of Abraham at War: Clash of Messianic Militarisms, by Talmiz Ahmad: Delhi, Aakar Books, Ahmad, T. (2013). The Islamist Challenge in West Asia. New Delhi.

He writes regularly in the Indian and West Asian media and lectures on political Islam, the politics of West Asia and the Indian Ocean, and energy security issues.

Dr. Meena Singh Roy

Research Fellow and Head, West Asia Centre, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

Dr. Meena Singh Roy's area of specialization is West Asia and Central Asia. Prior to joining IDSA, she was a senior research scholar in the Department of African Studies, Delhi University. She was associated with Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies and London School of Economics for her research work. She was a visiting Research Fellow with German Institute of Global and Area Studies Institute of Asian Studies (GIGA) in 2014.

She has several peer-reviewed articles and papers focused on West Asia and Central Asia. She has also been involved in net assessment reports and strategic gaming on West Asia and Central Asia.

Her publications include: Roy, M. S. (2009). International and Regional Security Dynamics: Indian and Iranian Perspectives, Pentagon Press, New Delhi; Kumaraswamy, P. R. & Singh, M. (2018). Persian Gulf 2016-17: India's Relations with the Region, Pentagon Press, New Delhi; Roy, M.S (2014). Emerging Trends in West Asia: Regional and Global Implications, Pentagon Press, New Delhi; Roy, M.S. (2018). Ideology, Politics and New Security Challenges in West Asia, Pentagon Press, New Delhi.

Amb (Retd.). Sanjay Singh

Former Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, India Former Indian Ambassador to Iran

Ambassador Sanjay Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976, and has served in Indian Missions in Mexico, Germany, Ghana, France, and Vietnam, as well as in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi on various assignments.

He served as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Gulf Division (from March 2005 to March 2009); was Ambassador to Iran during 2009–2011; and was Secretary (East) from March 2011 and till April 2013, when he retired. Since then, he has been following developments in West Asia and India’s relations with the region closely. He has also been participating in numerous activities related to the study of West Asia