I am excited to share that the Institute will partner with The University of the South Pacific to deliver a track 1.5 dialogue on how Australia and India can enhance cooperation and build resilience with Island States in the Indian and Pacific Oceans on a range of security issues. The Fiji Dialogue, will be held early next year and follows from the Kolkata Dialogue in 2023, as part of our defence program.
I was delighted to recently host the erudite Dr Shashi Tharoor MP for a special In Conversation on ‘Shifting Perspectives: The State of the World in 2024’. Held at the Old Quad at the University of Melbourne, Dr Tharoor captivated a packed audience on all things geopolitics, elections, the UN and India and its place in the world. Thanks to Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Tim Watts for his opening remarks and CEO of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, Jacob Varghese for partnering with us.
We are pleased the Institute was one of six organisations awarded a Australia-India Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership grant. Led by our Research Fellow, Samuel Bashfield, this project will examine how to mitigate threats to seabed critical infrastructure.
An important milestone in the bilateral relationship occurred on the on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil, where Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi met for the second India-Australia Annual Summit. A significant outcome was the launch of a new bilateral partnership on renewable energy. The Institute’s renewables dialogue held earlier this year builds on the partnership’s vision for a clean energy future.
Finally, we are very much looking forward to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test Series between Australia and India, a terrific contest between two of the best Test playing nations in the world!
Best,
Lisa