Join the Women’s Foreign Policy Group and ORF America for a discussion on the multifaceted U.S.-India relationship featuring prominent experts in the field. India, with the world’s largest population and a dynamic growing economy, is a major global power and critical partner to the United States. Shared values and interests also underpin the bilateral relationship. Prime Minister Modi’s June state visit to Washington solidified the relationship between the United States and India in many areas, from economic engagement, technology cooperation, and people-to-people links. How can the United States and India deepen their ties and make the most of their global leadership roles?

We hope to welcome you on September 28th from 5:30-7:30 PM EST at the ORF America Office for an exclusive opportunity to gain insight into the current state of U.S.-India relations and their future trajectory.

PROGRAM:

5:00 PM: Doors Open, ORF America

5:30 PM - 5:32 PM: Welcome by Sharon Stirling, COO, ORF America

5:32 PM - 5:35 PM: Opening Remarks by Alexa Chopivsky, Executive Director, Women’s Foreign Policy Group

5:35 pm - 6:10 pm: Panel discussion featuring:

Nancy Izzo Jackson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Persis Khambatta, Director of Global Government Affairs for India and South Asia, Walmart

Tanvi Madan, Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program, Brookings Institution

Moderated by: Humeyra Pamuk, U.S. State Department Correspondent, Reuters

6:10 pm - 6:25 pm: Audience Q&A

6:25 pm - 6:30 pm: Closing remarks by Sharon Stirling, COO, ORF America

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Networking Reception

Ms. Tanvi Madan is a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, and host of the “Global India” podcast. Madan’s work explores India’s role in the world and its foreign policy, focusing in particular on India’s relations with China and the United States. She also researches the U.S. and India’s approaches in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the development of interest-based coalitions, especially the Australia-India-Japan-U.S. Quad. Madan is the author of the book “Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped US-India Relations during the Cold War” (Brookings Institution Press, 2020). Her ongoing work includes a book project on the recent past, present, and future of the China-India-US triangle, and a monograph on India’s foreign policy diversification strategy. 

 

Ms. Persis Khambatta works with Walmart’s businesses in India and South Asia, providing policy analysis and strategy support to advance Walmart and its companies’ priorities in the region. She supports the team responsible for managing geopolitical risk, public policy, government affairs, stakeholder engagement and corporate reputation initiatives. Before joining Walmart, Persis was the Managing Director for South Asia at BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory company based in Washington, D.C. She helped establish and manage the regional practice and led BGA’s relationship with government officials, public policy organizations and global companies across a range of industries in India and South Asia. Persis also helped build and expand the Wadhwani Chair for U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington’s first think tank program dedicated specifically to U.S.-India policy. Her focus areas included South Asia’s economic development and political-economic affairs. She spent her early career at the Asia Foundation, helping to design and implement programs in Washington and Asia with a focus on South and Southeast Asian affairs. Persis holds a M.A. in International Affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at San Diego. She also attended Meiji Gakuin University in Japan, focusing on Asian security and economic affairs. Persis is a member of the Corporate Advisory Council for the GWU School of Business. A Palo Alto native, she lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, two kids and dog Coco, and has also lived in Mumbai, India and Totsuka, Japan.

Ms. Nancy Izzo Jackson is a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), where she supports the Assistant Secretary in formulating and implementing U.S.-India policy. Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Izzo Jackson served as the Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) from January 2021 to March 2022. Previous assignments included SCA Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan from November 2019 to January 2021, and PRM Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2015-2019. She has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2010. Prior to becoming a member of the Senior Executive Service, Ms. Izzo Jackson was a tenured member of the U.S. Foreign Service, serving with distinction at U.S. embassies in Liberia and Sri Lanka. Domestic assignments included serving as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State’s Senior Advisor on Haiti following a coup that threatened a mass migration to U.S. shores. She is also the recipient of numerous State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.

Ms. Humeyra Pamuk is a senior foreign policy correspondent based in Washington DC. She covers the U.S. State Department, regularly traveling with U.S. Secretary of State. During her 20 years with Reuters, she has had postings in London, Dubai, Cairo and Turkey, covering everything from the Arab Spring and Syria's civil war to numerous Turkish elections and the Kurdish insurgency in the southeast. In 2017, she won the Knight-Bagehot fellowship program at Columbia University’s School of Journalism. She holds a BA in International Relations and an MA on European Union studies.

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