Asia’s Unfolding Economic Saga, An Address by Anand Sharma, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry

On March 17, the Brookings Institution hosted Anand Sharma, Indian minister of commerce and industry, for an address on Asia’s unfolding economic saga from India’s perspective. In his remarks, Minister Sharma discussed the growing influence of emerging markets and the resulting opportunities for India’s revitalized role in the region and the world.

Anand Sharma was named commerce and industry minister in May 2009. He was first elected to serve in Parliament in 1984 and has had a long and prominent career in government service. He is recognized as a leader of the student and youth movement in India and founded the student wing of the Indian National Congress. He has also served as the chief spokesman for the Indian National Congress since 2003.

The event is part of a new initiative at Brookings that focuses on the interconnected and vital issues facing South Asia today. Martin Indyk, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings, introduced Minister Sharma. After the minister’s opening remarks, two Brookings Senior Fellows—Barry Bosworth, who directs the India Policy Forum, and Mauricio Cárdenas, the former Colombian minister of economic development and director of the Latin America Initiative at Brookings—engaged in a discussion with the minister, followed by questions from the audience.