Assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs to speak at Maxwell

Wednesday, January 19, 2011, By News Staff

Robert O. Blake, Jr., assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, will give a public lecture at the Maxwell School on Jan. 25 at 4 p.m., in 220 Eggers Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception.

In his remarks, “The India Model: The Beneficial Rise of an Economic Power,” Blake will look at how market dynamics and thriving democratic institutions in India have generated an economic model of a global power that other developing countries can emulate. While the South and Central Asia region lacks integration, he believes that the large markets and complementary resources have the potential to grow rapidly.

In his position at the State Department, which he has held since May 2009, Blake oversees U.S. foreign policy with India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Previously he served as ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2006-09, and as deputy chief of mission in New Delhi, India, from 2003-06. Since entering the foreign service in 1985, Blake has also served at American embassies in Africa, and in a number of positions at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1980, and a master’s degree  in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984.

The lecture is sponsored by the South Asia Center in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and co-sponsored by the departments of political science and public administration.