The Program: The Indo-U.S. Partnership in the 21st Century- An Indispensable Ally?

Mr. Ram contends in this discussion that for the United States, in the 21st Century, there may be no more important partnership than ours with India. The World’s oldest and largest democracies have too much in common to ignore the undeniable leverage of combined resources and approaches in international relations. This is especially true with regards to the pacing challenges of China, North Korea and other common adversaries, but also as India emerges as the world’s second largest economy by 2050.

Presenter: Vangala Ram
Vangala Ram is an intelligence and Foreign Service professional, retiring from the U.S. Foreign Service as a Senior FSO recently, after a distinguished twenty-seven career, earning several awards along the way, such as the Superior Honor Award (SHA).

Mr. Ram’s tours in the Foreign Service included nine overseas diplomatic assignments in Banjul, Amman, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tunis, Riyadh, Seoul, Cologne, Kabul, and Herat. Some of his key positions included Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Senior Civilian Representative (SCR), and Office Director for Regional Security and Arms Transfers in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/RSAT).

Mr. Ram served as the Department of State Chair at the National Intelligence University (NIU) and later taught graduate school there for several years. Mr. Ram has served as a Senior Analyst (de facto DNIO), at the National Intelligence Council (NIC), and as a Cyber Subject Matter Expert (SME) at USCYBERCOM.

He is currently an Associate Adjunct Professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and is an active-duty Veteran of DESERT STORM. Professor Ram was an active-duty MI Officer in the U.S. Army for over ten years.

Mr. Ram is married to a fellow FSO at the State Department and his foreign languages include German, Russian, Arabic, and Persian-Farsi. Mr. Ram was one of IWP’s earliest students in 1992

Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, 6:00PM Tanoan Country Club