The Bay of Bengal: Emerging Contours in the COVID-19 Era

A Joint East-West Center in Washington-Asian Confluence Indo-Pacific Seminar featuring:

Dr. Satu P. Limaye
Vice President, East-West Center and
Director, East-West Center in Washington

Mr. Sabyasachi Dutta (Moderator)
Executive Director, Asian Confluence

Amb. Tariq Karim
Former Ambassador of Bangladesh to USA and India

Amb. Pinak R. Charkavarty
Former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh & Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India

Dr. Prabir De
Head, AIC, RIS, India

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The East-West Center in Washington, in partnership with India's Asian Confluence, held a webinar on the responses of countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what those actions mean for the future once the pandemic has passed. 

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Dr. Satu Limaye is Vice President & Director of the East-West Center in Washington where he created and now directs the Asia Matters for America initiative. He is the founding editor of the Asia Pacific Bulletin. He is also Senior Advisor, China & Indo-Pacific Division at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA Corp) and Senior Fellow on Asia History and Policy at the Foreign Policy Institute at Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS). 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. He serves as a reviewer for leading publishers, journals, and US and international foundations. He currently serves on the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) Advisory Council, the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, and the National Bureau of Asian Research East Asia Study Group. Ambassador Tariq Karim is currently a consultant for South Asia Regional Integration & Engagement with the World Bank. He is also a Senior Fellow advising on the setting up of a Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies at the Independent University, Bangladesh. Ambassador Karim is a former Bangladesh High Commissioner to India (2009-14) where he held the personal rank and status of a State Minister of Bangladesh, and a former Ambassador to the United States. A career diplomat, he joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1967 and moved to Bangladesh upon Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. He played an important role in creating the personnel and administration departments in the nascent Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, and went on to hold numerous assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and abroad, including: High Commissioner to South Africa - with concurrent accreditation to Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and with consular jurisdiction in Zambia and Zimbabwe; Ambassador to Iran with concurrent accreditation to Lebanon; and Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing, and Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi. Amb. Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty served as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Ambassador to Thailand and Secretary [Economic Relations] in the Ministry of External Affairs. He served in diplomatic positions in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UK, Pakistan, Israel and Bangladesh. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and a regular contributor to national and international media.Dr. Prabir De is a Professor at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). He is also the Coordinator of ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at RIS. De works in the field of international economics and has research interests in international trade and development. He was a visiting Fellow of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo; and visiting Senior Fellow of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Bangkok. He has been conducting policy research for the Government of India and several international organisations. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the Jadavpur University, Calcutta. He has contributed several research papers in international journals and written books on trade and development. He is the Editor of The South Asia Economic Journal, published by Sage.Mr. Sabyasachi Dutta is the founder and Executive Director of the Asian Confluence, India East Asia, Center headquartered at Shillong, Meghalaya in North East India. The “Asian Confluence” is a pan-regional initiative to promote an open space for cultural and intellectual exchanges towards creating better understanding of the Eastern and North Eastern region of India in the larger context of India as an emerging power in South East and East Asian geopolitics. Through research, training and advocacy programs, the Asian Confluence provides an opportunity for civil society to enhance people-to-people contact between India and her neighbours and also encourage a better understanding of the cultural and socio-political issues of the region that actually are the driving force behind India’s “Act East Policy”. At the heart of the project are initiatives that encourage people-to-people exchange such as promoting research and interest in the region through research, advice, training programs. The Asian Confluence also promotes 5 educational tourism, creation of “out of the box” livelihood generation by promoting leadership and entrepreneurship programs, eco-friendly products and services and impetus to green industries aimed at economic development by forging a network of businesses and civil society organizations working on similar objectives. Sabyasachi continues to facilitate research programs, exchange programs, talks, discussions and symposia with scholars and leaders of culture and thought, from India and abroad and The Asian Confluence has established itself as a premier organisation in India with several successful initiatives to its credit.

 

The Bay of Bengal: Emerging Contours in the COVID-19 Era

A Joint East-West Center in Washington-Asian Confluence Indo-Pacific Seminar featuring:

Dr. Satu P. Limaye
Vice President, East-West Center and
Director, East-West Center in Washington

Mr. Sabyasachi Dutta (Moderator)
Executive Director, Asian Confluence

Amb. Tariq Karim
Former Ambassador of Bangladesh to USA and India

Amb. Pinak R. Charkavarty
Former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh & Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India

Dr. Prabir De
Head, AIC, RIS, India

---

The East-West Center in Washington, in partnership with India's Asian Confluence, held a webinar on the responses of countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what those actions mean for the future once the pandemic has passed. 

---

Dr. Satu Limaye is Vice President & Director of the East-West Center in Washington where he created and now directs the Asia Matters for America initiative. He is the founding editor of the Asia Pacific Bulletin. He is also Senior Advisor, China & Indo-Pacific Division at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA Corp) and Senior Fellow on Asia History and Policy at the Foreign Policy Institute at Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS). 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. He serves as a reviewer for leading publishers, journals, and US and international foundations. He currently serves on the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) Advisory Council, the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, and the National Bureau of Asian Research East Asia Study Group. Ambassador Tariq Karim is currently a consultant for South Asia Regional Integration & Engagement with the World Bank. He is also a Senior Fellow advising on the setting up of a Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies at the Independent University, Bangladesh. Ambassador Karim is a former Bangladesh High Commissioner to India (2009-14) where he held the personal rank and status of a State Minister of Bangladesh, and a former Ambassador to the United States. A career diplomat, he joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1967 and moved to Bangladesh upon Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. He played an important role in creating the personnel and administration departments in the nascent Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, and went on to hold numerous assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and abroad, including: High Commissioner to South Africa - with concurrent accreditation to Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and with consular jurisdiction in Zambia and Zimbabwe; Ambassador to Iran with concurrent accreditation to Lebanon; and Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing, and Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi. Amb. Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty served as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Ambassador to Thailand and Secretary [Economic Relations] in the Ministry of External Affairs. He served in diplomatic positions in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UK, Pakistan, Israel and Bangladesh. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and a regular contributor to national and international media.Dr. Prabir De is a Professor at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). He is also the Coordinator of ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at RIS. De works in the field of international economics and has research interests in international trade and development. He was a visiting Fellow of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo; and visiting Senior Fellow of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Bangkok. He has been conducting policy research for the Government of India and several international organisations. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the Jadavpur University, Calcutta. He has contributed several research papers in international journals and written books on trade and development. He is the Editor of The South Asia Economic Journal, published by Sage.Mr. Sabyasachi Dutta is the founder and Executive Director of the Asian Confluence, India East Asia, Center headquartered at Shillong, Meghalaya in North East India. The “Asian Confluence” is a pan-regional initiative to promote an open space for cultural and intellectual exchanges towards creating better understanding of the Eastern and North Eastern region of India in the larger context of India as an emerging power in South East and East Asian geopolitics. Through research, training and advocacy programs, the Asian Confluence provides an opportunity for civil society to enhance people-to-people contact between India and her neighbours and also encourage a better understanding of the cultural and socio-political issues of the region that actually are the driving force behind India’s “Act East Policy”. At the heart of the project are initiatives that encourage people-to-people exchange such as promoting research and interest in the region through research, advice, training programs. The Asian Confluence also promotes 5 educational tourism, creation of “out of the box” livelihood generation by promoting leadership and entrepreneurship programs, eco-friendly products and services and impetus to green industries aimed at economic development by forging a network of businesses and civil society organizations working on similar objectives. Sabyasachi continues to facilitate research programs, exchange programs, talks, discussions and symposia with scholars and leaders of culture and thought, from India and abroad and The Asian Confluence has established itself as a premier organisation in India with several successful initiatives to its credit.