We work with India's influential leaders and future leaders to help them enrich their service in the Ministry of External Affairs. In both the Young Diplomats Study Tour and the Security Fellowship, ministry officers traveled to the U.S. to study and gain insight into domestic and foreign policymaking and understand issues that may influence India's international and internal affairs. In 2008, we convened top South Asian policy experts at the highest level for input into America's Role in Asia, The Asia Foundation's quadrennial recommendations to policymakers for improving U.S.-Asia relations. Last year, we secured ten thousand new textbooks and works of literature which we then — in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry — shipped and distributed to nine universities and colleges in the Northeast Indian states. And, in an effort to support on-the-ground Indian non-governmental organizations, we assisted groups working in governance, the environment, and women's empowerment to improve the quality of government services and encourage more participatory and transparent processes for the operations of local government.
India
The Asia Foundation has maintained an active, non-resident program of support in India for four decades. In May 2008, we opened a liaison office in New Delhi, which we plan to fully operationalize in 2009, from which we will focus further on international relations, governance, economic reform, and women's empowerment. The Foundation also looks to India as a partner and provider of technical expertise in regional and international development. Read country overview.