Ambassador Speaker Series: H.E. Shri Vijay Gokhale, Ambassador of Republic of India

On December 6, 2016, H.E. Shri Vijay Gokhale, Ambassador of Republic of India to the People’s Republic of China visited the Yenching Academy of Peking University to participate in the Ambassador Speaker Series. Shri R. Madhu Sudan, First Secretary (Political) and Shri Mithilesh Kumar Jha, Counsellor (Consular/Education), also attended the event.

The Ambassador was greeted by Professor Yuan Ming, Dean of Yenching Academy, Professor John Holden, Associate Dean of Yenching Academy, and Indian scholars. Dean Yuan briefly introduced the Yenching Academy to Ambassador Gokhale and expressed a warm welcome.

Ambassador Gokhale then gave a speech to Yenching Scholars followed by a Q&A session. The Ambassador spoke about his own experiences from 35 years in the Indian Foreign Service, his assessment of recent international events and India’s development including its relations with the rest of the world. After his speech and Q&A session, Ambassador Gokhale exchanged with students on their diverse academic and working experiences.

Commenting on the event, Hannah Feldshuh (USA, University of Michigan) noted that “Ambassador Gokhale’s speech was wonderful. He was humorous, thoughtful, candid and engaging”. Ravi Prasad (United Kingdom, University of Cambridge) said that “listening to Ambassador Gokhale was inspiring and had given the scholars plenty of food for thought with regard to their own careers. Events like this are important in widening perspective and promoting mutual understanding between individuals and nations”.

The Yenching Academy Ambassador Speaker Series seeks to provide a platform for students to interact with Ambassadors; learning about their experiences, thoughts and gaining their advice. Through the lens of the Ambassadors, students can contextualize China’s development in the international setting.