Our team is deeply saddened by the killing of innocent human lives at Bondi through this devastating terrorist attack. Hatred is not part of any religion and people in Australia of all faiths should be able to live without fear. We must unite as Australians to support the right for Jewish Australians to live in safety and with dignity and freedom. Unity and equality are Australia’s strengths so let’s stand and stay together, against hatred, racism and division. One of our Distinguished Fellows, Prof Amitabh Mattoo has written a thoughtful piece on how societies respond to terror.
Reflecting back on the Australia India relationship, 2025 has been a year of resilience and progress. While tariffs, global tension and geopolitical unrest, and domestic commentary that has targeted our Indian Australian community have tested us, the bilateral relationship has continued to stay strong. From new defence dialogues promoting a safer and more prosperous Indo-Pacific, to advancements in collaborating on the innovation needed to power our clean energy transition, to burgeoning opportunities in education and research – Australia and India have worked together to turn shared challenges into opportunities for lasting impact.
As an Institute, this year we have held several track 1.5 dialogues pushing forward tangible policy solutions to advance the bilateral relationship across our Security and Geopolitics and Sustainable Economies pillars, we have progressed and deepened the Australia India Educationrelationship through the development of Frameworks, Toolkits and Reports, and we have created new opportunities for Australia and India to collaborate on high performance sport through our Cultural Diplomacy pillar’s programs and research.
I would like to welcome to the Institute, our newest Distinguished Fellow, Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande (retd) who will provide much ballast to our defence program. As we farewell Manager Strategy and Operations, Darryl Mohr, I wish to thank him for his support and hard work at the Institute.
Finally, thank you to all the friends of the Australia India Institute for your support across 2025 and to the entire Aii team. Best wishes for a peaceful and safe festive season.
Best
Lisa