Conference Programme

Tentative Programme (as at 4 November 2019)

FRIDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2019
SADC 2019 GALA DINNER
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
22 Orange Grove Road, Singapore 258350


Guest-of-Honour
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies
Republic of Singapore
18:00 Cocktail Reception
18:50 Introductory Performance
Samba Masala
Singapore Management University
19:00 Welcome Remarks
Ambassador Gopinath Pillai
Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore; and
Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Special Performance
Nritya-Varna

(Afsar Khan, Chitra Shankar, Shantha Ratii and P N Vikas)
Commencement of Dinner
Announcement I
Outstanding Member of the South Asian Diaspora (OMSAD) Award Recipient
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG
Emeritus Chairman, BRAC
Bangladesh
Citation by
Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
Principal Research Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and
Former Foreign Advisor (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh

Vote of Thanks by the Recipient of the OMSAD Award



Announcement II
Special Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Mr J Y Pillay


Rector, College of Alice and Peter Tan, NUS; and
Former Chairman, Council of Presidential Advisors of Singapore

Citation by
Professor Tan Tai Yong
President, Yale-NUS College; and
Deputy Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

Vote of Thanks by the Recipient of the Special Lifetime Achievement Award

Presentation of the Awards by the Guest-of-Honour
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies
Republic of Singapore

Vote of Thanks
Professor C Raja Mohan
Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS
21:30 End of Gala Dinner

SATURDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2019
FOURTH SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA CONVENTION
University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore

Guest-of-Honour
Mr Teo Chee Hean
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security
Republic of Singapore
09:00-09:50 Registration and Networking
09:50 Guests to be seated
10:00 - 10:10 Welcome Address
Ambassador Gopinath Pillai
Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore ; and
Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
10:10 - 11:00 Keynote Address
Mr Teo Chee Hean
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security
Republic of Singapore

Interactive Session with Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean

Moderated by
Professor Wang Gungwu
University Professor, National University of Singapore; and
Emeritus Professor, Australian National University
11:00 - 11:15 Tea Break
11:15 – 12:05 Plenary Session I
Business in South Asia: Opportunities and Challenges

Panel Discussion

Chairperson
Mr S Chandra Das
Managing Director, NUR Investment & Trading Pte Ltd; and
Non-Resident High Commissioner of Singapore to Sri Lanka

Discussants
Mr Jonathan Yap
President, CapitaLand Financial
CapitaLand Group
Singapore

Mr Enayetullah Khan
Founder and Managing Director
Cosmos Group
Bangladesh

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee
Director-General
Confederation of Indian Industry
India

Mr Pang Yee Ean
Director General, Investment Operations, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ( AIIB )
China
Question and Answer Session
12:05 – 12:55 Lunch
13:00 – 13:55 Plenary Session II
Women Empowerment in South Asia

Keynote Address
Ms Indranee Rajah
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and
Second Minister for Finance and Education
Republic of Singapore

Panel Discussion

Chairperson
Dr Anju Mary Paul
Associate Professor and Head of Studies of the Global Affairs Major
Yale-NUS College, Singapore

Discussants
Ms Rasheda K Choudhury
Executive Director (CEO), Campaign for Popular Education; and
Former Adviser, Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

Ms Aisha Khan
Chief Executive, Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change
Pakistan

Ms Vani Tripathi Tikoo
Actor/Producer
Member, Central Board of Film Certification,
India

Question and Answer Session
14:00 – 15:30 Plenary Session III
Infrastructure and Smart Cities

Keynote Address
Mr Lawrence Wong
Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance
Republic of Singapore

Interactive Session with Minister Lawrence Wong

Moderated by
Professor Tan Tai Yong
President, Yale-NUS College; and
Deputy Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

Panel Discussion

Chairperson
Dr S Narayan
Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and
Former Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of India

Discussants
Mr Bharat Joshi
Director, Joshi Group/J-Curve
India

Ms Karuna Gopal
Founding President, Foundation for Futuristic Cities, India

Dr Francis Chong
Senior Director
Emerging Markets Division & Amaravati Partnership Office
Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore

Question and Answer Session
15:30 – 15:50 Tea Break
15:50 – 16:40 Plenary Session IV
Innovations, Start-ups and Youth

Panel Discussion
Chairperson
Mr Shaikh Ismail
Managing Director, Accenture; and
Member, Board of Governors of the
Institute of Technical Education
Singapore

Discussants
Ms Roshni Mahtani
Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer
theAsianparents
Jakarta, Indonesia

Ms Pranoti Nagarkar
Founder, Inventor, Chief Executive Officer
Rotimatic

Mr Ng Yi Ming
Managing Partner, Tribe Accelerator, Singapore

Mr Hadi Rahmad
Chief Commercial Officer, WhatsHalal, Singapore

Question and Answer Session
16:45 – 17:25 Plenary Session V
Technology in Financial Services

Panel Discussion

Chairperson
Mr Vinod Rai
Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and
Former Comptroller and Auditor General, India

Discussants
Mr Ajay Tyagi
Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India

Mr Sopnendu Mohanty
Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Ms Anne Lochoff
Senior Advisor (Partnerships), Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development
United Nations Development Programme, Singapore

Question and Answer Session
17:30 – 18:15 Interactive Session
South Asian Diaspora: A Strategic Asset?

Chairperson
Professor Kishore Mahbubani
Distinguished Fellow, Asia Research Institute
National University of Singapore

Discussants
Mr Md Shahidul Haque
Foreign Secretary, Government of Bangladesh
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka

Professor C Raja Mohan
Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

Question and Answer Session

18:20 - 18:30 Vote of Thanks
Professor C Raja Mohan
Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

END
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