India & the World -- theme for Partnership Summit

The Partnership Summit 2004, the annual flagship event of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), being held from January 7 to 9 , will have as its theme 'India and the World: Engagement and Partnership.'

The summit, to be held in association with the state government, will be attended by over 800 high-level delegates from India and abroad. These include over 200 overseas participants, business delegations from over 12 countries.

Featuring over 50 speakers from India and abroad, the summit will have sessions on a wide range of subjects such as New economy: new paradigms; Building Indian multinationals from protection to domination; Global economies : is recovery round the corner?; Indian business going global; Engaging the world : Media Leaders' Perspective; World after 9/11; India & US : At a New Cross Roads; Leadership in the Response to AIDS-- From Rhetoric to Action; The Silk Route : Will Beijing Declaration Rewrite History ?; and Leadership : Breaking New Grounds.

The summit will also host networking lunches on topics such as India and the Arab world; India and Pakistan : Creating a working relationship;Bridging India and Singapore to build global networks; Export opportunities for US companies in India; and Investment opportunities in Hong Kong and China.

Speakers at the summit include Karan Bilimoria, the CEO of Cobra Beer Limited, UK; Mike O' Brien, the minister of state for trade, UK; Joseph Crowley, Congressman, US House of Representatives; Andrew Gower, the editor of Financial Times, England; C K Prahalad, the professor of business administration at the University of Michigan Business School; Robert Radtke, the vice- president (policy & business programmes) of Asia Society; Essop Pahad, the minister in Presidency, Republic of South Africa; Claude Smadja, the president of Smadja Associates, Switzerland; and Shashi Tharoor, the under secretary-general at the department of public information, United nations.

Arun Shourie, the union minister for disinvestment, communications & IT, Jairam Ramesh, the secretary (economic affairs) of All India Congress Committee, and N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, would also participate in the three-day summit.