ET WLF: John Kerry, Shashi Tharoor, and Matteo Renzi to dissect fiery geopolitics

Former US Secretary of State and presidential candidate John Kerry; celebrated diplomat, author and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs Shashi Tharoor; and former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will be among the star draws, dissecting world affairs at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum this week in New Delhi.

With geopolitical flux affecting every walk of life, insights culled from the heft of experience that Kerry, Tharoor and Renzi bring to the table will illuminate the invited audience at ET's flagship summit.

Kerry, who served as the US special presidential envoy for climate with authority over energy and climate policy in the Biden administration till last year, has also previously chaired the US Senate foreign relations committee. He will share his thoughts on the fast-evolving recent relationship between the world's oldest and largest democracies.

Experience on international stage

He was the Democratic Party's nominee for US president in 2004.

Shashi Tharoor, a celebrated author and career UN diplomat who entered Indian politics after serving as undersecretary general at the global body, is a four-time Lok Sabha MP. He has been a practitioner and commentator in global diplomacy for decades.

He recently led one of the all-party delegations that the government assembled to drum up support globally after Operation Sindoor. The delegation wrapped up its tour in the US, with a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in June, after visiting Panama, Guyana, Colombia and Brazil.

As Prime Minister of Italy between 2014 and 2016, Renzi handled a number of geopolitical challenges, including the European debt crisis, the civil war in Libya, Russia’s military intervention in Crimea and the insurgency by Islamic State in West Asia.

He has worked closely with global leaders such as Barack Obama of the US, Shinzo Abe of Japan, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and François Hollande of France.