In a huddle outside the main conference venue at Mumbai's Grand Hyatt hotel are
Richard C Holbrooke, the Asia Society's Chairman, Frank Wisner and Ronnie Chan, the Society's vice-chairman.
Both Holbrooke and Wisner are career diplomats, and wellknown friends of India.
Wisner, of course, was the United States ambassador to India in the 1990s and has continued his association with India in his post-diplomatic career with the insurance giant, AIG.
Holbrooke never served as a US diplomat in Nw Delhi, but is now a passionate advocate of India. It was he who insisted that the Asia Society set up an office in India -- it will be based in Mumbai -- and is now a crusader against AIDS, which he believes is one of this country's greatest problems.
Chan is chairman of the Hang Lung group, one of Hong Kong's biggest companies. According to his profile on the company site, he is a 'board member of the China Development Research Foundation of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.' He 'also serves on the governing or advisory bodies of several think-tanks and universities, including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Southern California where he received his MBA.'
Asked by rediff.com if he was sceptical of India's potential, Chan explained his position in a well argued interview, which we will post later this week.