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7th Asia Economic Dialogue to be held in Pune from Feb 26–28
Three-day international conference, themed “Geoeconomics Beyond Globalisation: Tariffs, Technologies and Strategic Alignments,” will bring together more than 45 distinguished speakers
The 7th edition of the Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) 2026, an annual geo-economics conference jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Pune International Centre (PIC), will be held in the city from February 26 to 28.
The three-day international conference, themed “Geoeconomics Beyond Globalisation: Tariffs, Technologies and Strategic Alignments,” will feature 12 sessions and bring together more than 45 distinguished speakers from nine countries, including India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Singapore, Kenya, Australia, Israel, and Norway.
The event will open with remarks by Raghunath Mashelkar, president of PIC, followed by an address by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A panel discussion on the conference theme will be chaired by Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, Convenor of AED and former Ambassador of India to Bhutan and China, as well as former High Commissioner to Pakistan. The valedictory address will be delivered by Ambassador (retd) Nirupama Rao, former Foreign Secretary, and chaired by Vijay Kelkar, vice-president of PIC.
Bambawale while speaking at a press conference at the PIC campus on Monday said, “The conference would feature panel discussions, reflecting the growing quality and global engagement of the dialogue over the years.”
Dinanath Kholkar, director of PIC, announced that for the first time, the conference will include a dedicated session linking public health with economic development, underscoring the growing interdependence between health systems and economic resilience.
