Department of State Grant: Promoting Indo-Pacific Economic Integration

Regional and global supply chains offer potentially boundless economic opportunity for India to serve as a global trade base, especially through expanded ties with economies in East Asia and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, including ASEAN countries, Australia, Korea, and Japan. Foreign investors, however, frequently decide to locate production nodes elsewhere in the region, noting the lack of regional integration and resulting costs of using India as a global export base. Successful economic integration into the broader Indo-Pacific is crucial for developing India’s manufacturing sector, stimulating economic growth, and creating jobs for the one million Indians joining the work force every month. What are the options available to Indian entrepreneurs, businesses, and policy makers to attract such investment? What are the main impediments? Specifically, how have investment conditions changed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has regional integration changed business calculations in light of travel and shipping restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic? These are among the many questions requiring deeper discussion, debate, and published analysis.

Through this initiative the successful applicant will bring together Indian and regional thought leaders in New Delhi and across the Indo-Pacific region to discuss, analyze and formulate policy recommendations to improve India’s integration in regional and global supply chains. Rather than merely provide a platform for presentations and academic discussions, these events should be maximally interactive. In this regard, proposals taking a creative approach to intellectual discussion and debate and that integrate modern conference formats are strongly encouraged[1]. Applicants should develop at least 10 audio/visual or other products designed to spark discussion for each topic at these events – for example, extremely brief video recorded interviews with Indian/foreign business leaders offering their views on event topics. At least one of the interviewees should be an American citizen representing a U.S. company. 

(Please refer to the full announcement available under ‘related documents’ tab)