The General Counsels’ Association of India (GCAI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) to strengthen ties and enhance international arbitration capacity-building initiatives for in-house legal professionals.
The MoU was signed in Mumbai on 25 April 2025 by Shwetha Bidhuri, director and head of South Asia at the SIAC, and Akhil Prasad, founder and general secretary of the GCAI. Present at the signing were CV Raghu, founder member and president of the GCAI and Lucy Reed, president of the SIAC court of arbitration.
Raghu said the collaboration would deepen institutional ties while enabling the GCAI to implement more in-depth training programmes. “We are pleased to be entering into this collaboration with the SIAC. It will deepen ties between our two organisations while enabling the GCAI to provide enhanced capacity-building programmes in international arbitration for our members,” he said.
Reed highlighted the opportunity to work closely with the Indian corporate legal sector. “This MoU provides an excellent platform for the SIAC to ensure that our services meet the needs of companies in India, and for the SIAC to work with the GCAI to provide practical programmes that deepen Indian in-house lawyers’ knowledge of international arbitration law and practice,” she said.
The MoU outlines plans for jointly organising arbitration-focused events such as conferences, seminars and workshops in India and Singapore. It includes the development of training initiatives aimed at expanding GCAI members’ practical understanding of international arbitration from counsel and arbitrator perspectives. Both parties will support and participate in each other’s relevant events as part of the agreement.
The GCAI was also represented at the ceremony by senior members, including GCAI founder Shukla Wassan and members Swathi Kamath, Vivek Mittal and Sujeet Jain.
