PAST EVENT | Ottawa | Canada West Foundation and The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Indo-Pacific Strategy Forum 2023
December 4-5, 2023
The Westin Ottawa
11 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
The Canada West Foundation (CWF) and the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) are delighted to co-host the third annual Indo-Pacific Strategy Forum (IPSF 2023) on December 4-5, 2023 in downtown Ottawa.
IPSF 2023 is the largest and most comprehensive Indo-Pacific conference in Canada on Canada’s defence and trade engagement in the Indo-Pacific. The forum will convene a diverse in-person audience of over 150 participants, encompassing federal and provincial government officials, academics, business leaders, the foreign diplomatic corps and key stakeholders from the Indo-Pacific region.
With support from the MINDS program at the Canadian Department of National Defence, this two-day, in-person event features 45 expert speakers from Canada, the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific region. The forum will offer deep-dive panels, on-stage interviews by Indo-Pacific reporters with Canadian policymakers, and dedicated networking sessions. Discussions will focus on crucial issues such as major defence and security challenges, the increasing role of security in Indo-Pacific trade, and the implementation of federal and provincial Indo-Pacific strategies. An ambassadors panel will further enrich the discourse by providing regional context.
Occurring a year after the launch of federal and provincial Indo-Pacific strategies and increased presence in the region, this year’s conference is a critical platform for evaluating the progress of the strategy’s implementation, exploring Canada’s broader engagement with the region and understanding how this engagement is perceived within the Indo-Pacific.
Agenda – Day 1 (December 4, 2023)
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Words of Welcome
Bijan Ahmadi, Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Hon. Doug Black, Chair, Canada West Foundation
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Keynote — Speech by Major General Greg Smith
Major-General Greg Smith, Director General, International Security Policy, Canadian Department of National Defence
Interviewed by: Bijan Ahmadi, Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Panel 1 — Navigating the New Geopolitical Landscape: ASEAN & Great Power Tensions in the Indo-Pacific
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Research Professor, Research Centre for Politics, National Research and Innovation Agency; Former Indonesian Deputy Secretary for Political Affairs
Alice Ba, Chair and Professor, International Relations & Comparative Politics, University of Delaware
Paul Evans (Moderator), Professor Emeritus, School of Public Policy & Global Affairs, University of British Columbia
Deanna Horton, Distinguished Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto; Former Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam
Kai Ostwald, Director, Institute of Asian Research, School of Public Policy & Global Affairs, University of British Columbia
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Panel 2 — Indo-Pacific Security Architecture: The Quad, AUKUS, and NATO
Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Andrew Latham, Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Karthik Nachiappan, Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore; (Non-Resident) Senior Fellow, Macdonald Laurier Institute
Vina Nadjibulla (Moderator), Vice-President, Research & Strategy, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Yuki Tatsumi, Senior Fellow and Co-Director, East Asia Program and Director, Japan Program, Stimson Center
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Lunch
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Keynote — From Strategy to Tactics: Realizing the potential of the Indo-Pacific
Mairead Lavery, President, Export Development Canada
Interviewed by: Ken Moriyasu, Washington Correspondent, Nikkei Asia
2:30 PM – 3:45 PM
Panel 3 — Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: A Year in Review
Trevor Kennedy, Vice President, Trade & International Policy, Business Council of Canada
Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Kim Nossal, Professor Emeritus, Queen’s University
Lynette Ong, Professor, Munk School of Global affairs & Public Policy
Jeremy Paltiel, Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Sven List (Moderator), Senior Vice President, Corporate & International, Export Development Canada
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Panel 4 — Ambassadors’ Panel
H.E. Maria Andrelita S. Austria, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to Canada
H.E. Yamanouchi Kanji, Ambassador of Japan to Canada
H.E. Scott Ryan, High Commissioner of Australia to Canada
H.E. Lim Woongsoon, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Canada
Hon. Gary Mar (Moderator), President & CEO, Canada West Foundation
Agenda – Day 2 (December 5, 2023)
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Keynote — Australia’s Strategic View of the Indo-Pacific
Gregory S. Brown, Senior Analyst, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Washington DC Office
Interviewed by: Wenran Jiang, Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
9:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Panel 5 — The Security-Trade Nexus in the Indo-Pacific
Ari Van Assche, Professor, Department of International Business, HEC Montreal
Robert Hanlon, Director & Principal Investigator, Canada & the Asia Pacific Policy Project, Thompson Rivers University
Kristen Hopewell, Professor & Canada Research Chair in Global Policy, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of BC; Director, Liu Institute for Global Issues
Stephen Nagy, Professor, International Christian University
David Talbot, Associate Director, Economic Policy, Milken Institute
Catherine Fortin Lefaivre (Moderator), Vice President, Strategic Policy & Global Partnerships, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Keynote — Provincial Indo-Pacific Engagement
Hon. Ranj Pillai, Premier of Yukon
Interviewed by: Ken Moriyasu, Washington Correspondent, Nikkei Asia
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Panel 6 — The Agricultural Trade Focus of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy
Kathleen Donohue, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Michael Harvey, Executive Director, Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance
Brian Innes, Executive Director, Soy Canada
Carlo Dade (Moderator), Director, Trade & Investment Centre, Canada West Foundation
Presented by:
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