Kolkata hosts Building Pan-Asian Connectivity Conference

A two-day event in Kolkata on March 10th-11th, the conference brings together business, academic, government, and civilian experts from the United States, India, and Southeast Asia to examine the opportunities and challenges as India and its neighbors take on greater roles in the region.

The U.S. Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, will address a Special Session on Mar 11 focusing on regional connectivity; viewing it as a place where the United States and India’s strategic and economic interests converge. 

In his keynote address at the Inaugural Session on Mar 10, Neil Kromash, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of South & Central Asia noted, “Promoting pan-Asian connectivity is an issue that has, and will continue to have a strong and enduring U.S. commitment, and where we see great opportunities for cooperation with the countries of the region.”

According to Dr. Sumit Ganguly, Director, Center on American and Global Security, Indiana University, “Kolkata, the financial hub of eastern India and known as the country’s intellectual and cultural capital, is a germane location for the event as a gateway to India’s eastern neighbors and an essential place of connectivity in the region.”

The purpose of the Building Pan-Asian Connectivity Conference is to highlight the most recent scholarship on South Asia’s ties to Southeast Asia and East Asia, thus identifying trans-regional issues in the domains of security, counter-terrorism, trade, and environmental affairs. 

The Building Pan Asian Connectivity Conference is generously supported by the U.S. Department of State. 

It was initiated by U.S. Consulate General Kolkata with Public Affairs funding as part of the U.S. Mission in India’s strategic policy conference series, which started with the Maritime Security Conference in Chennai in June 2014 and includes the U.S.-India Relations Conference later this month in New Delhi.