In an era of shifting global economic dynamics, evolving supply chains and expanding international markets, the ability to build meaningful cross-border partnerships has become more important than ever. As trade, investment, technology and innovation increasingly intersect, institutions that foster international cooperation are playing a vital role in shaping the future of global business.
At the forefront of this vision is Dr Harvansh Chawla, Chairman of BRISEC CCI, who is championing a broader approach to international economic engagement through the philosophy of “G20 and beyond". With a focus on connecting businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers across established and emerging markets, BRISEC CCI aspires to transform global networking into sustainable partnerships and tangible economic opportunities.
In this conversation with Anupriya Garg, Dr Chawla discusses the evolution and strategic direction of BRISEC CCI, the growing importance of economic diplomacy, and the opportunities arising from an increasingly interconnected global economy. He also shares his vision for strengthening international trade, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, and building a trusted global business ecosystem guided by one defining principle: “Infinite Opportunities Beyond Borders".
Q. What led to the evolution of BRISEC CCI, and what attracted you to taking on the responsibility of serving as its Chairman?
The global economic environment is changing rapidly. Businesses today are no longer confined to traditional markets, and questions of trade, investment, technology, supply chains, innovation and policy are increasingly interconnected. BRISEC CCI represents an opportunity to respond to this changing environment through a broader and more contemporary platform for international economic cooperation.
A very important part of BRISEC's vision is “G20 and beyond". The G20 represents some of the world's most significant economies, but global economic opportunity is certainly not confined to the G20. There are dynamic markets, entrepreneurial ecosystems, technology centres, investment opportunities and emerging industries across the wider world. For BRISEC, G20 and beyond mean building bridges across this entire economic landscape, connecting G20+ economies with the wider global marketplace.
When I was given the responsibility of serving as chairman, I saw considerable potential in this vision and its international outlook. My own professional journey across law, international engagement, business institutions and public affairs naturally complements this mandate, and I believe I can contribute meaningfully to taking BRISEC CCI forward.
Q. How do global economic changes shape the relevance and direction of BRISEC CCI today?
These changes make institutions such as BRISEC more relevant, not less. Businesses operating across G20+ economies and emerging markets need to understand not only where opportunities exist but also how geopolitical developments, technology, regulations and supply chain shifts can affect those opportunities. The ability to connect with reliable partners and understand different markets is becoming increasingly important.
I see BRISEC CCI as a platform that can help businesses navigate this complexity by bringing together trade, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and institutional dialogue across the G20 and beyond. The objective is to make international cooperation more practical, informed and relationship-driven, while helping businesses identify opportunities across an increasingly interconnected global economy.
Q. What makes BRISEC CCI different from other chambers and business associations?
A contemporary chamber cannot simply be a platform where people exchange visiting cards and attend conferences. Networking remains important, but the real value lies in what happens after the introduction. Can businesses find partners? Can investors discover opportunities? Can entrepreneurs access markets, expertise and capital across G20+ economies and beyond? Can institutions develop meaningful long-term relationships?
I believe BRISEC CCI should function as an ecosystem rather than merely a network. Its role is to connect businesses with markets, entrepreneurs with investors, innovators with institutions and industry with policymakers, creating the trust and institutional relationships necessary for those connections to develop into meaningful outcomes. That is particularly important in a world where economic opportunities increasingly extend beyond traditional geographical and regional boundaries.
Q. What does “G20 and beyond” mean in practical terms?
The phrase “G20 and beyond” reflects the reality that today's global economy cannot be understood through one grouping or one geographical framework. The G20 represents a major part of the world's economic landscape, but significant opportunities also exist in economies, markets, technology centres and entrepreneurial ecosystems outside traditional groupings.
For BRISEC CCI, this means keeping the platform open to meaningful engagement wherever there is potential for trade, investment, innovation and cooperation. G20+ economies provide an important foundation, but the vision must extend beyond them. We should not look at the world as isolated economic blocs. We should look at it as an interconnected global ecosystem, where different markets and capabilities can complement one another and create opportunities across the G20 and beyond.
Q. How do you see the role of a chamber such as BRISEC CCI evolving from connecting businesses to becoming a platform for wider economic and policy dialogue?
Economic relationships are influenced by much more than commercial transactions. Policy, regulation, technology, infrastructure, investment frameworks and geopolitical developments all have an impact on business. This makes meaningful dialogue between businesses, policymakers, institutions, experts and other stakeholders increasingly important across G20+ markets and the wider global economy.
I therefore see BRISEC CCI as a platform for economic diplomacy in a broader sense. We can create spaces where different perspectives come together, where businesses can articulate their concerns, policymakers can understand emerging opportunities and institutions can develop partnerships that contribute to long-term economic cooperation. In that sense, the role of BRISEC CCI extends beyond facilitating business connections to helping strengthen the institutional architecture of cooperation across the G20 and beyond.
Q. What practical role can BRISEC play in helping businesses navigate geopolitical uncertainty, fragmented supply chains and technological change?
The first requirement is better connectivity. Businesses operating across G20+ economies and emerging markets need access to reliable information, credible partners, new markets and institutional relationships. They also need to diversify their relationships so that they are not unnecessarily dependent on a single market, supplier or opportunity.
BRISEC CCI can help create these connections through international business platforms, strategic partnerships, market engagement and policy dialogue. We cannot eliminate uncertainty from the global economy, but we can help businesses become better informed, better connected and more resilient. The objective is to enable businesses to identify opportunities across the G20 and beyond while building relationships that can withstand changing economic conditions.
Q. How can BRISEC CCI connect trade, investment, innovation and entrepreneurship across different markets?
This is one of the most exciting possibilities for BRISEC. A promising entrepreneur may have an excellent product but need access to a particular market. Another business may have capital but be looking for the right technology or partner. Somewhere else, an institution may have the expertise required to make that collaboration work. These opportunities can exist anywhere across G20+ economies and beyond.
BRISEC can act as the connector between these different capabilities. Our objective should be to create trusted platforms where such relationships can emerge naturally and then provide the institutional support necessary for them to develop into partnerships, investments, joint ventures or market opportunities. In this way, BRISEC can help turn the diversity of capabilities across different economies into meaningful international collaboration.
Q. What opportunities do you see for creating a stronger interconnected global economic ecosystem?
The greatest opportunity lies in recognising that economic capabilities are distributed across the world. One region may have capital, another technology, another manufacturing capabilities, another natural resources, while another may offer a rapidly expanding consumer market. The real opportunity is to bring these complementary strengths together across G20+ economies and the wider global marketplace.
That requires more than bilateral introductions. It requires an ecosystem built around trust, knowledge exchange, strategic partnerships and sustained institutional engagement. BRISEC CCI can play a role in creating those bridges across regions and helping businesses and institutions discover opportunities that they may not otherwise encounter. This is ultimately what we mean by looking at the G20 and beyond as an interconnected economic landscape.
Q. What does “Infinite Opportunities Beyond Borders” mean to you?
“Infinite Opportunities Beyond Borders” expresses a simple belief: borders should define jurisdictions, but they should not limit imagination, enterprise or cooperation. Every market has its own strengths, and when those strengths are connected intelligently, they can create opportunities that would not exist within individual markets alone, whether within the G20 or beyond it.
But international cooperation should never be reduced to transaction volume. The real measure of success is whether those relationships create sustainable businesses, investment, innovation, employment, knowledge exchange and long-term partnerships. The objective is not simply to move more across borders but to create more value because we are connected across borders.
That, to me, is the deeper meaning of BRISEC's vision: using the connections between G20+ economies and the wider world to create opportunities that are sustainable, inclusive and mutually valuable.
Q. Looking five to ten years ahead, what would you like BRISEC CCI to have built?
I would like BRISEC CCI to become a respected and trusted international institution through which businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers genuinely find value. Success should not be measured simply by the number of memberships, events or countries represented, but by the quality and longevity of the relationships we help create across the G20 and beyond.
If, five or ten years from now, BRISEC has helped build meaningful trade corridors, investment partnerships, entrepreneurial collaborations, institutional relationships and platforms for policy dialogue across G20+ economies and the wider global marketplace, I would consider that a meaningful achievement.
Ultimately, institutions are remembered not for how large they become, but for what they enable others to accomplish. If BRISEC can become an institution that helps businesses enter new markets, investors discover new opportunities, entrepreneurs build international partnerships and policymakers engage more effectively with the business community, then it will have fulfilled the larger promise of Infinite Opportunities Beyond Borders.
