“The fundamental qualification for being an Irishman in India is that you must have an aunt who was a nun here,’’ says Sir Anthony O’Reilly, with a twinkle.

The Dublin-born chief executive of Independent News & Media, a billion dollar global media and communications conglomerate, publishing in four continents, qualifies — his aunt arrived as a young postulant in the 1930s, and retired as Mother Superior of Loretto Convent, Lucknow, passing on in 1981.

Sir Antony has brought the 20-member international advisory board of the $3.4 billion company for its bi-annual meeting to the heart of New Delhi, including Sir Sean Connery, (“Having 007 on board helps,’’ says Sir Anthony), Brian Mulroney, former Canadian Prime Minister, David N Dinkins, the first and only African-American New York Mayor and the legendary Benjamin Bradlee, vice-president of the Washington Post.

Sir Anthony also hopes to publish the British edition of The Independent in India. The Independent Group had bought a 20 per cent stake in the Jagran Group of newspapers of Kanpur in 2005.

Sir Anthony is equally effusive about expanding global partnerships, “Today, the media is language and location indifferent,’’ he elaborates, “it is the globalisation of news. Even PM (Manmohan) Singh told us yesterday India would become the publishing hub of the world. With the magic of software and broadband, news can be repackaged, translated within moments. Do you know the South Morning China Post gets many of its sub-editing work in Delhi?’’ he adds.

Brian Mulroney, a fifth generation Irish Canadian (his family fled the Great Potato Famine of Ireland and arrived in Quebec in 1832), is also on a sentimental trip. He was PM when the late Rajiv Gandhi was in office. Says Mulroney, who meet Sonia Gandhi yesterday,

... contd.