Carnegie Endowment to establish South Asia Centre in Delhi
08 Nov 2011
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is exploring the possibility of establishing its South Asia Centre in New Delhi.
A high level delegation from Washington DC-based US foreign policy think-tank today called on Primr Minister Manmohan Singh home minister P Chidambaram, HRD minister Kapil Sibal Shiv Shankar Menon, the National Security Advisor.
The delegation, led by Sir Richard Giordano, chairman of the think tank also included Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and group CEO, Bharti Enterprises, who is a member of the board of trustees of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Tomorrow the delegation is scheduled to meet finance minister Pranab Mukherjee; urban development minister Kamal NathArun Jaitely, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
"Given India's vital geo-political importance, Carnegie is eager to explore creating a South Asia centre here," said Jessica Mathews, president, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in a media statement. "We are greatly encouraged by the interest shown by senior Indian officials and thought leaders in this regard."
The Carnegie Endowment, founded in 1910 by steel baron and philathropist Andrew Carnegie, is a private, non-profit organisation with the stated aim of advancing cooperation between countries and promoting active international engagement by the United States.
The Endowment is based in several countries. In 1993 it launched the Carnegie Moscow Center and now has operations in several countries, with headquarters in Moscow, Beijing, Beirut, Brussels, and Washington, DC.
In 2008, during the global financial crisis and the increasing importance of economics in world discussions, the Endowment created a programme in international economics headed by the former director of trade at the World Bank, Uri Dadush.
