PM to inaugurate Asia Society conference tomorrow

Mumbai, Mar 17: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will arrive here for a day to inaugurate the three-day 16th Asian Corporate conference tomorrow (Mar 18, 2006).

The event has been organised by Asia Society, a US-based forum that focusses on strengthening the relationship and promote understanding between US and Asian nations.

Dr Singh will also inaugurate the 'India Centre' office of the society in Mumbai, besides visiting his former work place, the Reserve Bank of India, where he would release a book on the history of RBI, alongwith Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

India, being an emerging global partner of the US on various issues including nuclear proliferation and socio-cultural relationship, has attracted global players such as China which is sending a 200-member team headed by Commerce Minister Bo Wilai to attend the conference.

In fact, in the recent past, at the Asia Society Conference in Washington, US President George Bush laid down the future road map of relationship with India and the outcome of his recent visit to the country.

Besides the Prime Minister's inaugural address on the opening day tomorrow, the other dignitaries who would speak at the conference are Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Wilai, US Ambassador to India David Mulford and a host of prominent CEOs from countries like Singapore, Japan, China, the Philippines and the US.

''The Asian Corporate conference will provide top leaders a great opportunity to examine the broad implications of India's emergence, '' Asia Society president Vishakha Desai said.

She said the society is a non-partisan institution with over 10,000 members and having offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Washington and now Mumbai.

The society's 'India Centre' here will serve as a multi-dimensional recourse, a forum for intra-Asian connections and a high profile platform for US-South Asia dialogue.

Under the direction of Chairman Purnendu Chatterjee and Executive Director Bunty Chand, the centre would play an instrumental role in hosting a delegation of US state and national education leaders who will meet their counterparts in Mumbai and Delhi.

As a part of its initiative this year, the centre will organise the contemporary exhibition 'Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India' in Delhi, the third annual Asian dialogue on HIV/AIDS in Mumbai on April 27-28 and a month-long artists-in-residence programme.

UNI