Former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who will deliver the keynote address to open the 2024 Camden Conference on Friday, February 16, is not only a diplomat who served at the highest levels of government but is also a published poet and an acclaimed singer, according to Camden Conference, in a news release. Before performing in concert in Bangalore, India earlier this month she told the New Indian Express newspaper that she sees a deep connection between her talents, and thinks that music, poetry and diplomacy are all "founded on the critical need for communication as human beings, to build bridges rather than break them." Rao was India's first woman Foreign Secretary, and also served as ambassador to the U.S. and China.

The 2024 Camden Conference, INDIA: Rising Ambitions, Challenges at Home, will present a roster of distinguished speakers through the weekend of Feb. 16-18 at the Camden Opera House.

“Rao's keynote address, How India Sees the World, will kick off a fascinating weekend of informed discourse about the country that is overtaking China in population, is rising as an global economic power, but struggles with immense poverty, sectarian strife and its ages-old caste system,” said Camden Conference.

Tickets to the 2024 Camden Conference are still available through the website.

The Camden Conference was founded in 1987 as a nonprofit, non-partisan educational organization whose mission is to foster informed discourse on world issues.