The summit represents the Hindustan Times’s effort to contribute to the debate on important issues that affect India and the world. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will speak on the first day.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will represent the government while leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani will address the summit with a keynote speech.

Senator John Edwards, who is expected to run for the US President’s post in 2008, will also be in Delhi at HT’s invitation and will speak on the challenges and opportunities for two of the world’s largest democracies.

Former US secretary of defence William Cohen, who led the challenge of strengthening security relationships with other countries in the post-Cold War era, will speak on the perils and promises of the new world.

Global politics is also represented by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak whose talk will focus on the Middle East and the risks and opportunities for a stable world.

Dr Zalmai Rassoul, Afghanistan’s national security advisor, will join former external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh to speak on regional cooperation for peace and progress.

Peace and progress in Kashmir will be debated by its GenNow leaders Mahbooba Mufti, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Omar Abdullah. Business icons Anita Roddick, the former chairperson of Body Shop, and Sunil B. Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, will discuss how shareholders' value and service to society can co-exist.

Charlotte Crosswell, the head of NASDAQ International, and M. Damodaran, chairman SEBI, will speak on how Indian companies can go global. Former James Bond Sir Roger Moore, the Unicef's goodwill ambassador, will talk on investing in children and youth for a better future. Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova will join youth icon Sania Mirza and F1 racer Narain Kartikeyan to examine the role of the celebrity in influencing public policy.