Saturday
20
August 2022
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Location
Online Via Zoom
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Geography, Geology, Geopolitics: The Dynamics In India's Western Neighbourhood
The Conversation Series
Talmiz Ahmad
Former Indian Ambassador, Saudi Arabia, Oman And the UAE
Ram Sathe Chair for International Studies, Symbiosis International University, Pune
Author, West Asia At War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games
Speaker
Professor Minal Pathak
Amrut Mody School Of Management
Ahmedabad University
Moderator
West Asia, or the Middle East, is a strategically important part of the world. The region is the spiritual home of three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is also blessed, and cursed, by its geology, its vast reserves of oil & gas. For India, countries of the West Asian region are of immense strategic, commercial, and cultural importance in terms of energy, trade, investment, logistical connectivity, and the interests of the eight million Indians living in the region.
As a new world order emerges after the pandemic and the wars of the region, what will be the role of West Asia in the world? How will regional dynamics impact global energy, trade, and logistical connectivity projects? What is the future of the region’s dominance in energy, given the energy crunch caused by the Ukraine crisis and the longer-term pivot away from fossil fuels?
Our speaker is a veteran Indian diplomat and the foremost expert on West Asia. He will provide a comprehensive understanding of the diverse forces shaping the region's political, economic, and energy future, and its consequences for the world order in general, and India in particular.
Speaker
Talmiz Ahmad
Talmiz Ahmad is a veteran Indian diplomat and the foremost expert on West Asia. He has published four books: Reform in the Arab World: External Influences and Regional Debates (2005), Children of Abraham at War: the Clash of Messianic Militarisms (2010), The Islamist Challenge in West Asia: Doctrinal and Political Competitions (published in August 2013, after the Arab Spring), and West Asia at War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games (2022). Mr Ahmad writes and lectures frequently on the politics of West Asia, political Islam and energy security issues. Presently, he is a Visiting Distinguished Fellow at ORF.
Moderator
Professor Minal Pathak
Minal Pathak is Associate Professor at the Amrut Mody School of Management and the Global Centre for Energy and Environment. She was a drafting author on the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C and the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land. Professor Pathak holds a PhD and MS in Environmental Science. She is a Visiting Researcher at Imperial College London.
