Professor Harsh V. Pant is Vice President – Studies and Foreign Policy at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, and Professor of International Relations at King’s India Institute, King’s College London. He also serves as Honorary Director of the Delhi School of Transnational Affairs at Delhi University.
He has held visiting positions at institutions including IIM Bangalore, Banaras Hindu University, the University of Pennsylvania, McGill University, CSIS Washington, DC, and the Australia-India Institute, University of Melbourne.
His research focuses on Asian security, and his recent books include India and Global Governance (Routledge), Politics and Geopolitics (Rupa), America and the Indo-Pacific (Routledge), New Directions in India’s Foreign Policy (CUP), India’s Nuclear Policy (OUP), The US Pivot and Indian Foreign Policy (Palgrave), Handbook of Indian Defence Policy (Routledge), and India’s Afghan Muddle (HarperCollins).
He writes regularly for major Indian and international media outlets such as The Japan Times, Wall Street Journal, The National (UAE), Hindustan Times, and The Telegraph.
Former Ambassador Anil Trigunayat is Distinguished Fellow and Head of the West Asia Experts Group at the Vivekananda International Foundation. A career Indian diplomat for over three decades, he specialized in public diplomacy, strategic analysis, and economic diplomacy, with postings in the US, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa. He served as India’s Trade Commissioner in New York, Deputy Head of Mission in Sweden, Russia, and Nigeria, and as Ambassador to Jordan, Libya, and Malta, playing key roles in conflict management and citizen assistance during crises.
He is President of the Millennial India International Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MIICCIA) and serves on advisory boards of the India-Italy Chamber of Commerce, CII, BRICS Chamber, Raisina House, USANAS Foundation, and India-Japan Foundation. He is a member of the International Trade Council, Brussels, and a Visiting Fellow at AIDIA and NIICE, Nepal.
Amb. Trigunayat is also a Peace Ambassador with Unity.Earth (Australia), a former adviser to NCDC and former Independent Director at WAPCOS. An Oxford alumnus and TEDx speaker, he currently serves as Independent Director on the Board of NTPC Ltd.
Ambassador Dr. Shambhu Ram Simkhada is a senior diplomat and academic, currently affiliated with the National Defense University, Nepal, and serves as Visiting Faculty in International Relations and Conflict Studies at Tribhuvan University. He was Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to Switzerland (1998–2003), and also represented Nepal at the WTO and other international organizations in Geneva.
He chaired the United Nations Human Rights Commission (2000–2001), served as Acting Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva (1996), and was Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York (1994). Earlier in his career, he was Member Secretary and Treasurer of Nepal’s Social Welfare Council (1989).
From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Simkhada was part of the Government of Nepal’s Special Committee and its Technical Committee for the Supervision, Integration, and Rehabilitation of Maoist Army Combatants, contributing to Nepal’s peace process. Born in 1949, he remains a prominent voice in international diplomacy, peacebuilding, and development.
Shri R. M. Aggarwal joined the Indian Foreign Service on 21 July 1975 and retired on 31 January 2009, with 34 years of diplomatic service in the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Missions abroad. His postings included Sri Lanka (1978–1981), Moscow (1984–1988, 1999–2002), Brussels (1991–1994), Botswana (1994–1998), Angola (2002–2005), and Yemen (2006–2009).
He served as India’s Ambassador to Yemen (2006–2009) and earlier to Angola (2002–2005), with concurrent accreditation to Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, and São Tomé and Príncipe. He was Minister (Diplomatic Rank) in Moscow and Acting High Commissioner in Botswana. At MEA headquarters, he served as Additional Director General of ICCR (2005–2006), promoting India’s cultural diplomacy.
Since March 2009, he has been Additional Director General at Amity University, focusing on international cooperation. Throughout his career, Shri Aggarwal has worked extensively to advance India’s economic, cultural, academic, and commercial interests globally.