The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) is pleased to invite you to a seminar titled “Renewed High Tensions and War in West Asia: Implications for India”, featuring a conversation with Ambassador K.C. Singh, former Indian Ambassador to Iran and the UAE and Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. The discussion will be chaired by Ambassador Jaimini Bhagwati, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP, former Indian High Commissioner to the UK and former Ambassador to the EU.

The seminar will be held on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm (IST) at the CSEP Auditorium, 6, Dr Jose P Rizal Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021.

Please note that this is an in-person event only. If you are in Delhi on the day, we invite you to join us for what promises to be a thought-provoking discussion. The event will be available on the CSEP website and YouTube channel upon completion.

Register here to attend

About the event

On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Israel during which about 1,200 Israeli civilians and military personnel were killed, and another 250 were taken hostage. Since then, Israel has bombed Gaza repeatedly, due to which around 73,000 civilians have been killed, and most of Gaza has been reduced to rubble. The resulting human misery raises questions about the use of guerrilla tactics by Hamas and the disproportionate use of military force by Israel. On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel started bombing Iran again, and currently Israel is occupying part of southern Lebanon. The US and Iran had arrived at an understanding, with Pakistani intermediation, to allow movement of fossil fuels and other products via the Straits of Hormuz. However, as of July 23, 2026, ships cannot move unhindered via the Straits of Hormuz due to renewed US-Iran conflict. Ground realities in West Asia have changed dramatically for the worse during the first 18 months of President Donald Trump’s second term. Ambassadors Talmiz Ahmad and K.C. Singh, who are widely respected West Asia experts, will discuss the tortuous background to conflicts in this region which have reached new heights and the consequent implications for India.

Speakers

K.C. Singh

K.C. Singh joined the Indian diplomatic service in 1974 and retired in May 2008 as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Besides serving in Cairo, New York and Ankara, he was deputy secretary to the President of India (1983-87). He was Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1999-2003) and to Iran (2003-05).

Talmiz Ahmad

Talmiz Ahmad joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974. After early postings in Kuwait, Iraq and Yemen, he was Consul General in Jeddah, and later the head of the Gulf and Hajj Division in the Ministry of External Affairs in 1998-2000. He also had postings in New York, London and Pretoria, and was responsible for International Cooperation in the Ministry of Petroleum. He was ambassador in Riyadh twice (2000-03 and 2010-11), Oman (2003-04) and the UAE (2007-10). In 2011, the Saudi Government conferred on him the King Abdulaziz Medal First Class for his contribution to Indo-Saudi relations.

Following retirement in 2011, he has been a full-time academic. He is Distinguished Professor for International Studies at Symbiosis International University. His latest book, West Asia at War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games, was published in 2022. He writes and lectures regularly on the politics and economics of Eurasia and the Indian Ocean and Energy Security issues.

Chair

Jaimini Bhagwati

Jaimini Bhagwati was appointed India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 2011 and prior to this was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. Bhagwati has served in the area of Capital Markets & Pension Reforms in the Ministry of Finance in Delhi and for over a decade in the World Bank Treasury in Washington DC, where his responsibilities included issuance of World Bank bonds and computation of pricing, including execution of derivatives transactions.

Bhagwati holds a Master’s in Physics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, a Master’s in Finance from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a PhD from Tufts University. In 2019, he authored The Promise of India: How Prime Ministers Nehru to Modi Shaped the Nation (1947–2019). Bhagwati has authored Working Papers at the World Bank, ICRIER, CSEP and articles in Indian newspapers.

He is currently a Board member of Apollo Tyres.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.

Please contact Gurmeet Kaur at GKaur@csep.org for general queries and Ayesha Manocha at AManocha@csep.org for media queries.