Nalanda Development Dialogue – 1st Edition

Bridging Foresight, Building Pathways, Reviving Track-2 Diplomacy

The inaugural Nalanda Development Dialogue (NDD) brings together leading think tanks, researchers, and policymakers to explore a renewed vision for sustainable and people-centered development in a rapidly evolving geopolitical and geoeconomic environment.

Hosted at Nalanda University, and inspired by the intellectual legacy of ancient Nalanda, the Dialogue seeks to strengthen the connection between ideas and institutions and to contribute to shaping the next generation of global development frameworks beyond the current Agenda 2030 cycle.

Vision and Strategic Context

In 2026, India chairs BRICS while a new G20 cycle begins under U.S. leadership. This moment reflects broader global shifts in economic governance, energy security, digital transformation, and sustainable development. As multilateral cooperation evolves, development thinking must also adapt.

The Nalanda Development Dialogue promotes a multiple systems perspective on growth and prosperity, one that integrates:

• Green industrial transformation

• Inclusive and resilient growth

• Human capital formation

• Sustainable production and consumption systems

• Macroeconomic stability and financial resilience

Particular attention will be given to the long-term socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. A new generation is entering education systems and labor markets amid rapid digitalization and demographic change. Labour skills, ranging from digital competencies to social and cultural capabilities, have become structural determinants of development. Yet traditional growth indicators still insufficiently capture dimensions such as mental well-being, quality of employment, and social engagement.

From “Beyond GDP” to Reforming the Global Financial Architecture

Over the past two decades, numerous initiatives have sought to improve growth measurement and align economic performance with societal well-being. These include “Beyond GDP” efforts, the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission, biodiversity economics initiatives, and the recoupling agenda advanced by the Global Solutions Initiative.

More recently, G20 presidencies, particularly from emerging economies, have contributed to advancing new alliances on sustainable finance, digital public infrastructure, energy transition platforms, and climate adaptation. Discussions on reforming multilateral development banks and strengthening sustainable finance frameworks reflect an ongoing effort to modernize the global financial architecture.

The Dialogue will examine how these reform trajectories can further:

• De-risk green transition investments

• Support debt-burdened economies

• Mobilize blended finance at scale

• Strengthen sustainable infrastructure systems

• Enhance cross-regional cooperation

Track-2 Diplomacy and Bridging Foresight

In recent years, Track-2 diplomacy has emerged as a valuable instrument to facilitate dialogue across policy, academia, and international institutions. The Nalanda Development Dialogue aims to reinforce this mechanism by fostering cross-disciplinary and cross-boundary cooperation.

Drawing inspiration from earlier periods of strategic foresight that enabled large-scale institutional innovation, the Dialogue will explore how renewed foresight can help address fragmentation in research, governance, and development cooperation.

Future scenarios remain open. Constructive dialogue and institutional innovation are essential to shaping them.

Program Highlights

Day 1

• Opening session: Disruptions, dissensus, disorder – or changing development cycles?

• Plenary Roundtable #1: Reframing development toward and beyond 2030

• Regional highlight: North East India

• Plenary Roundtable #2: Bridging foresight and the macroeconomics of growth in a world under stress

• World Heritage visit to Old Nalanda

• Nalanda-style debate with student societies

Day 2

• Opening keynote

• Plenary Roundtable #3: An agenda for Track-2 diplomacy in 2026–2027

• Editorial highlight: INTERSECTING Vol. 12 – The Future of Common Development Goals

• Closing session and next steps of the Nalanda Development Dialogue process

• Cultural and creative economy highlight in Patna

Featured image: Contemporary photos are by Nicolas J.A. Buchoud