CONFERENCE ON

ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IN
THE AGE OF DISRUPTIONS
August 31, 2019
CONCEPT NOTE ISB, Hyderabad Campus

Deccan Dialogue, jointly organised by the Indian School The scope and scale of these disruptive forces are
of Business (ISB) and the Ministry of External Affairs, unparalleled in recent history. No country or company
Government of India, is an annual flagship event aimed at is immune to these forces or can endure them, single-
promoting multi-stakeholder conversations on economic handed. All stakeholders must keep pace with the
diplomacy and India’s external engagement. Deccan changes and engage in a policy dialogue where
Dialogue brings together policymakers, representatives ‘international’, ‘national’, ‘regional’ and ‘local’ come
from business, diplomatic and strategic community, together to address and adapt to these disruptions
media and academia on a common platform, to engage jointly.
and deliberate on emerging aspects of economic
In this context, the 2nd edition of Deccan Dialogue will
diplomacy and development. The maiden edition of
deliberate on the changing counters of international
Deccan Dialogue was held last year on the theme
economic relations and the role of economic diplomacy
‘decentralised cooperation’.
in fostering new partnerships and strengthening
The 2nd edition of Deccan Dialogue is scheduled on multilevel cooperation on crosscutting issues of trade,
August 31, 2019, at ISB’s Hyderabad campus and with investment, international finance, climate change and
its theme centred around ‘Economic Diplomacy in the sustainable development.
Age of Disruptions’. We are witnessing extraordinary
The event is structured to have inaugural and valedictory
times where geopolitical shifts, trade tensions,
sessions and five thought-provoking and informative
technology transformations and climate change are
dialogues around the theme ‘Economic Diplomacy in the
all churning businesses simultaneously and impacting
Age of Disruptions’.
economy, society and environment in a significant way.
DIALOGUE I: RESHAPING ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT in their significant way India’s economic engagement
IN A RAPIDLY TRANSFORMING WORLD ORDER – with the rest of world and also opened up new
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIA opportunities for Indian business. Cultural affinity plays
a significant role in gaining trust and clinching trade and
Globalisation, as nurtured by the post-cold war liberal
investment deals. Soft power and economic diplomacy
order, transformed the organisation of international
go hand in hand. Businesses and policymakers need
economic relations ushering an unprecedented level
to pay more attention to these aspects. An agenda that
of interconnectedness and interdependence among all
calls for focused deliberations in this context is the
countries. But the tectonic geopolitical disruptions of
internationalisation of higher education and how it can
the recent years – from the widening transatlantic rift
strengthen India’s stand as a ‘soft power’ and can be
to the shifting pivot to the Indo-Pacific, from the rise of
leveraged as a useful tool of economic diplomacy.
China as a high power to the new power games in the
gulf – are all upending the established rules of economic
engagement and forcing nation-states as well as DIALOGUE IV: INTERNATIONAL FINANCE IN A
business community to recast their strategies and search MULTIPOLAR WORLD
for alternative solutions. As the fastest growing emerging
The global economy is undergoing substantial structural
economy and at the same time facing a multitude of
shifts primarily driven by three megatrends – digital
vulnerabilities, India is in a unique position to play a vital
transformation, the economic strength of emerging
role in reshaping global economic governance and lead
economies and a possible breakdown of a multilateral
new partnerships. The panel will focus on navigating the
framework, within which the global economy has
geopolitical disruptions to trade and commerce and the
functioned since World War II. Within this context,
challenges and opportunities for India in this context.
the salience of the Bretton Wood Institutions in the
international monetary and financial systems is
DIALOGUE II: TECHNOLOGY AND TRADE – diminishing. New multilateral financial institutions like
NEGOTIATING NEW FRAMEWORKS FOR INDUSTRY the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New
4.0 AND SOCIETY 5.0 Development Bank have become attractive alternatives
for meeting the daunting infrastructure investments
Cutting edge technologies like AI, machine learning, IoT
needs of developing countries. At the same time efforts
and digital genomics are drastically changing industrial
as the Belt and Road Initiative have come with their own
structures as well as the society at large. Many countries
set of challenges related to transparency, sovereignty,
like Japan, Germany, Singapore and Estonia have come
national security and sustainability of debt. It is essential
up with bold initiatives to accelerate the adoption of
to see how the rules of international finance can be
these technologies in diverse sectors from industry to
revisited and existing and new multilateral frameworks
governance and from individual to a community level.
strengthened and made more representative.
The anxiety over who would dominate and control such
disruptive technologies is already manifesting in new-age
tech and trade cold wars. Maximising the benefits and DIALOGUE V – MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE:
at the same time managing the negative impacts of such DECENTRALISED ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN A
disruptive technologies would require new cooperative POST-GLOBAL WORLD
frameworks that balance concerns related to national
Decentralised cooperation is receiving a fresh impetus
security, individual privacy, economic interests and
and a new perspective in the context of growing
developmental priorities. Unfortunately, existing platforms
challenges to global economic integration. State
like WTO have turned out to be ill-suited for facilitating
governments and sub-national actors are important
such discussions. Panellists will share their views on how
stakeholders in driving and enriching India’s external
governments can negotiate and evolve new frameworks/
engagement. In addition to promoting trade and
models that benefit all stakeholders.
investments, States are actively involved in strengthening
diaspora ties, cultural linkages and academic exchanges.
DIALOGUE III: ‘SOFT POWER’ DIPLOMACY AND Further, in the context of climate change and sustainable
HIGHER EDUCATION development, a partnership among local governments
and urban bodies has become imperative to achieve
Ease of global travel, the rise of social media and an
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
empowered diaspora have helped project India’s rich
The Ministerial Dialogue will deliberate on making
cultural and constitutional heritage making India a
decentralised cooperation an effective and sustainable
major soft power state in the world. Various facets of
reality in the post-global world.
soft power like Bollywood, TV serials, Yoga, Ayurveda,
political pluralism and religious diversity have facilitated

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