India Inc:
Jo Johnson is the MP for Orpington and as former editor of the South Asia Desk for The Financial Times has a unique vantage point to the Indian economy and Indo-British relations.With Europe engulfed in a sovereign debt crisis and with growth sluggish in North America, it is more important than ever for the United Kingdom to engage with booming countries in Asia and Latin America.
None has greater historical, cultural and economic ties with the UK than India. Yet, Britain is in danger of losing its share of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as the share of mind among opinion-formers, in a country that will almost certainly be one of the pillars of a new multi-polar order.
The UK has tumbled down the rankings of India’s trading partners over the last decade, from 2nd in 1999 to 22nd ten years later, falling behind even Belgium.
While there can be no quick fixes or dramatic breakthroughs, the coalition government led by David Cameron has put reconnecting with India at the top of its list of diplomatic priorities, as was made clear by the decision to make India his first major overseas port of call, with an official visit in July 2010 taking place within 10 weeks of his arrival in 10 Downing Street.
Against this backdrop – I look forward to spending November 26 at Editorial Intelligence’s first Names Not Numbers symposium in Asia.
Names Not Numbers is an ideas conference that brings together 150 exclusively invited guests from across politics, the media, business, culture and public life come together to discuss life changing questions in a unique format. As Julia Hobsbawm, Editorial Intelligence’s CEO, puts it; each event has an “intimate scale, so that you feel like you are a guest at a clever dinner party”.
Previous locations include New York and the iconic Portmeirion Village in Wales, and guests have included bestselling author Neil Gaiman; former assistant secretary of state P.J. Crowley; Harvey Goldsmith, chairman, Ignite; singer and campaigner Annie Lennox; Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the former trader and author The Black Swan; historian Simon Schama; and Douglas Alexander, shadow secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs.
The ideas conference creates an intimate setting where key thinkers, stake holders and opinion formers – from CEOs, MPs and authors to editors and musicians – can come together and share their thoughts, views and experiences on today’s key questions.
I will specifically be addressing the ethical questions around modern business in a globalised world. A panel that includes Vikram Mehta of Shell India; Britannia Industries’ Vinita Bali and Nasser Munjee, the chairman of DCB, will look at and answer questions on philanthropy and individualism, corporate individuality and accountability.
Building relationships between leaders, thinkers and businessmen is key to developing a broader and deeper partnership. Our two countries have much to learn from one another, and Editorial Intelligence has brought together a fantastic group of people to Mumbai with exactly that aim in mind.
More info: www.namesnotnumbers.com/mumbai
