Jaswant Singh, Member of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) of India will share his insights on India's foreign policy in the context of global threats and the current economic downturn, as well as give his assessment of the current economic situation in India.

A long serving member of Parliament, Mr Singh served as Finance minister in the short-lived government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996,. After Vajpayee became Prime Minister again two years later, Mr Singh became Minister for External Affairs of India between 1999 and 2002. Responsible for foreign policy, he dealt with high tensions between India and Pakistan. In July 2002 he became Finance Minister again, switching posts with Yashwant Sinha. He served as Finance Minister until the defeat of the Vajpayee government in May 2004 and was instrumental in defining and pushing through the market-friendly reforms of the government. Known for his moderate political views, he is a self-described liberal democrat even though the Bharatiya Janata Party is often described as a right-wing nationalist organization.

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