CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY & COMMERCE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC 2021 Rapporteurs’ Report © 2021 Observer Research Foundation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from ORF. Observer Research Foundation 20 Rouse Avenue, Institutional Area New Delhi 110002 India [email protected] www.orfonline.org ORF provides non-partisan, independent analyses on matters of security, strategy, economy, development, energy and global governance to diverse decision-makers including governments, business communities, academia and civil society. ORF’s mandate is to conduct in-depth research, provide inclusive platforms, and invest in tomorrow’s thought leaders today. Editing and Production: Preeti Lourdes John Design and Layout: Rahil Miya Shaikh ISBN: 978-93-90494-39-2 CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY & COMMERCE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC Introduction n 2 February 2021, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), in collaboration with the Government Akshay Mathur of Maharashtra, launched ‘Colaba Director, Observer Research Foundation OConversation’—Mumbai’s signature forum for Mumbai, and Head of ORF Geoeconomics discussing international policy issues affecting Programme, India the city, the nation, and the world. Held over two days and with 20 sessions of panels, conversations, and keynotes, the conference saw speakers from over 20 countries deliberate on issues of global cooperation. In keeping with ORF’s gender-first policy, 34 women experts comprised more than half of the 65 speakers from across the world. Participants included leaders from government, industry, sustainability. This cooperation has provided new media and civil society, and they deconstructed impetus for cities and sub-regions to engage with and debated the key themes in politics and and learn from each other. policies that will be vital to the emergence of a new global order. The focus on global cities examined how city governance, city planning, the allocation of The conference theme—‘Creativity, Commerce resources, investments and financing, and and Communities in the Indo-Pacific’—was gender-sensitive budgeting are being integrated motivated by the growing importance of the with community engagement to build back not region. The Indo-Pacific has now replaced the only better but together. The conversations Asia-Pacific as the world’s primary theatre of also discussed how coastal cities are being geopolitics and geoeconomics, making India a designed and funded in the current geopolitical primary stakeholder on strategic issues of the and geoeconomics context and whether there region. is a need for establishing a global policymaking forum for cities. Mumbai’s thriving international business centre, creative ecosystem and diverse communities The focus on green finance explored the made it an ideal venue for discussing emerging possibility of India defining its own ‘new green governance issues facing the global community. deal’. There are lessons that India can learn Named after ‘Kulaba’, one of the seven islands from other global cities. Mumbai’s application that created the archipelago of Mumbai, the and admission to C-40, a global forum for cities Colaba Conversation served as a medium for working on sustainability, illustrates that cities multi-stakeholder engagement and dialogue. can play a role in mitigation and adaptation in the run-up to COP-26. There are many global efforts Against the backdrop of an increasingly chaotic to mitigate and adapt to climate change. But and contested world order, the discussions the conversations reminded us that much more focused on globalised cities, green finance, needs to be done for the conservation of scarce digital governance, and para-diplomacy, with a and natural resources. Indeed, conservation is particular cross-cutting focus on geoeconomics. critical to overcoming the climate threat, but it is Of course, this year, all conversations took place increasingly being left out in the global climate in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. discourse. The focus on para-diplomacy explored the role The focus on digital governance explored of sub-national leaders and governments in the need to regulate new technologies and shaping global developments by directly seeking the role of digital multinationals in ensuring perspectives from leaders on the changing technology is human-centric and accountable, role of states and cities in global, national and and creates livelihoods for workers. As the regional policymaking. A key takeaway from the conversation progressed, it became clear that discussions was that international coordination there is a demand for some form of regulatory between cities has been catalysed because control—even government supervision—on of the cooperation on climate adaptation and the new technologies and initiatives related 6 Introduction to digitalisation. There is a global concern of globally on economic issues with more fortitude widespread disruption and also a yearning that and clarity. A conversation on the Arabian Sea the new digital technologies be made available with experts from the Gulf and East Africa, and and accessible to all. a similar conversation on the Indo-Pacific with experts from the US, Australia, Japan and China, Besides the four pillar themes, the dialogue had helped frame the importance of India, particularly sessions on geoeconomics, especially to explore Mumbai, in the geopolitics and geoeconomics of the role of Mumbai compared to other financial the region. centres in the region, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Shanghai. Mumbai’s rise in At the end, it became clear that rethinking a new the Indo-Pacific region is intrinsically tied to India’s global governance architecture will need both economic rise. Therefore, the rise of Mumbai’s short-term responses guided by the evolving global appeal is dependent on how intricately and nature of the pandemic, and long-term ones that effectively the central, state and city governments will be influenced more by fundamental shifts in work with each other to put the hardware and global affairs. software in place to attract talent, capital and technology. The city needs to capitalise on and We hope that the Colaba Conversation will channel the finances, technology and talent that continue to be a platform through which these are available in increasing measures. Sessions on developments are monitored by the international trade, globalisation and multilateralism reiterated community. this guidance by calling for India to engage Introduction 7 CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY & COMMERCE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC Inaugural session SPEAKERS The City, The State and The New World Almut Möller Eleni State Councillor, Kounalakis Hamburg, Germany Lieutenant Governor, Order California, United States Kashish Parpiani Theresa Lianne Dalziel Schopper Mayor, Christchurch, New Zealand Minister of State, Ministry of Baden- Württemberg, Germany he COVID-19 pandemic prompted moderator a belated acknowledgment of the significance of cities in comprehensive disaster response Tstrategies. Under the ‘new normal’ of increased mobilisation towards sustaining community tracing and social distancing guidelines, the oft-overlooked agency of local authorities has returned to the fore. Although previous disasters, such as terror attacks and climate change-related Akshay Mathur eventualities, underscored the relevance of local Director, Observer Research Foundation mobilisation, their temporospatial characteristic Mumbai, and Head of ORF Geoeconomics would eventually mean a return to deferring to Programme, India federal mandates. But the prolonged search for an effective COVID-19 vaccine has meant social Welcome Remarks mobilisation efforts are the only credible path to stemming the virus’ spread. Even as vaccination efforts now gather steam, cities and their local administrative bodies will remain at the forefront of the protracted fight against the pandemic. In noting the criticality of local mobilisation towards “disciplined and determined” contact- Sunjoy Joshi tracing efforts, Uddhav Thackeray cited the Chairman, Observer global recognition received by Dharavi—a Research Foundation, India densely-populated ghetto in Mumbai known for its constricted bylanes, use of community toilets, and small-scale production units of Inaugural Address utility goods. Similarly, in noting Christchurch’s work on expediting equitable post-pandemic recovery, Lianne Dalziel argued, “It is at the city level where local relationships and partnerships come to the fore. It is we who can facilitate and support community-led adaption planning, and where recovery is best led in partnership with communities. And that is why, cities are Shri Uddhav pioneering the work on resilience.” Thackeray Chief Minister, Government of Beyond the contemporary challenge of the Maharashtra, India coronavirus pandemic, panelists also recounted the significance of cities and subregions in Vote of Thanks broader foreign policy linkages. Citing Hamburg’s outsized share in Germany’s total maritime transport to India (74 percent in 2019), Almut Möller said, “While we follow our national government’s pointed direction, the city of Hamburg itself is a driving force of Indo-Hamburg relations with its independent agenda and activities.” Similarly, Eleni Kounalakis noted the centrality of California in the broader trajectory of US-India bilateral Priyanka Chaturvedi ties. Noting the doubling of California exports Member of Parliament, between 2009-19, Kounalakis underscored