India and the United States have embarked upon a new kind of partnership, following the series of agreements signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s July visit to Washington. The new Indo-US relationship, as envisioned by both governments, will move beyond the nonproliferation constraints which had prevented full cooperation in the space, defense, and energy sectors, most notably. But there is opposition to the new agreements from some quarters in both India and the US, particularly with respect to changes in the nonproliferation regime, global environmental issues, and the choices India and the US will face to ensure their countries’ energy security. Developments in the global economy, moreover, have pushed India into the frontlines of discussion about offshore outsourcing, and many in the United States see India as taking jobs from Americans. Ambassador Sen will address these unfolding challenges and opportunities before India and the United States.

Ambassador Sen is one of India’s most distinguished diplomats. He was the first Indian to serve as ambassador to three of the P5 countries—Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States — and to four of the G8 capitals. In Russia and Germany he served during times of transition and turmoil, as India's first ambassador to Moscow after the Soviet Union's collapse, and as ambassador during the reunification of East and West Germany. Ambassador Sen also worked with Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar as joint secretary in the Prime Minister's Office during the 1980s and early 1990s.