Dr. Sampa Kundu serves as a Consultant at the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at RIS, a position she has held since October 2021. In this role, she conducts in-depth research and writes on various aspects of ASEAN-India relations, contributing to policy recommendations and strategic frameworks on ASEAN-India strategic partnership, India’s Act East Policy and Southeast Asian regional affairs reflecting her deep engagement with the region’s evolving geopolitics and cultural linkages.
She earned her PhD from the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, in January 2015. With a strong academic and research background, she has contributed significantly to policy and strategic studies, particularly in the context of ASEAN-India relations.
She is also actively involved in policy briefs and projects, including the Mekong-Ganga Policy Brief and the ASEAN-India Newsletter. Her work highlights the interplay of diplomacy, culture, and strategic interests in ASEAN-India relations and the Indo-Pacific, contributing to deeper regional cooperation. Dr Kundu has over a decade of experience in research, academia, and consultancy at prestigious institutes including MP-IDSA, New Delhi, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune and Amity University, Noida.

Publications:

• “ASEAN-India Relations at 30: Cooperation, Challenges and Prospects” in 30 Years of ASEAN-India Relations: Towards Indo-Pacific (KW Publishers, 2023).
• “Arunachal Pradesh, the Land of Spirituality, Culture and Ethics: Its Role in India’s Act East Policy” in The Southeast Asia Review (2023).
• Book review of Pandemic Perspectives: Praxis, Policy and Pedagogies (Sandra Joseph & Reena Marwah, eds.), published in JMC Review, Vol VII (2023).
• “Understanding the Cultural Strategy of ASEAN”, Commentary, Asian Confluence (November 2024).
• “India as ‘Vishwabandhu’: Fostering Stronger Partnership with ASEAN”, India News Network (December 2024).