The second edition of Raisina Down Under is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, India and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia.
Raisina Down Under 2024 will focus on the issues that define the future of the dynamic region that stretches from the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific. It will engage with groupings and regions—ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and the Pacific Islands—that are central to future growth, development, and geopolitical balance.
Over one-and-a-half days, this forum will examine the sources of growth in the region and how infrastructure partnerships can shift development trajectories. It will examine the future of the green transition, the blue economy, and the technological revolution, and engage with the geopolitical trends at play within our region.
Raisina Down Under 2024 has the following Thematic Pillars:
15:30 - 16:15 (AU)
16:15 - 16:25 (AU)
Justin Bassi, Executive Director, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australia
Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation, India
16:25 - 17:00 (AU)
In Conversation:
S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, India
Justin Bassi, Executive Director, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australia
17:00 - 17:15 (AU)
Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Australia
17:15 - 17:30 (AU)
17:30 - 18:20 (AU)
The nations of the Indo-Pacific must deliver sustainable and inclusive development to their young and aspirational populations – but are faced with multiple challenges, from economic security to slowing growth and environmental degradation. Creating new growth paths means that physical and virtual infrastructure must be financed and built. A vibrant blue economy needs resilient infrastructure on the coasts alongside digital public infrastructure for coastal communities. The international financial system will need to be reformed, updated and made greener to meet this ambition; and the norms governing these efforts must recognise the need for inclusivity and justice, including gender equity. This panel will consider how new models of co-operation – from undersea cables to digital architecture – can create a 21st-century growth paradigm.
Speakers
Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
Fatafehi Fakafānua, Speaker of Parliament, Kingdom of Tonga
Lesikimacuata Korovavala, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fiji
Magnus Ewerbring, Chief Technology Officer, Asia-Pacific, Ericsson
Hayley Channer, Director of the Economic Security Program with the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney, Australia
Moderator
Suzanne Vares-Lum, President, East-West Center, United States of America
18:20 - 20:30 (AU)
08:00 - 08:25 (AU)
08:25 - 08:30 (AU)
Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation, India
08:30 - 09:15 (AU)
Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister; Minister of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand
Penny Wong, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia
S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, India
Moderator:
Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation, India
09:15 - 09:30 (AU)
Simon Birmingham, Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia
09:30 - 10:20 (AU)
Future green growth will depend on the dissemination of critical technology, access to sustainable finance and the availability of vital materials. As processes change and new policies are implemented, supply chains will shift – and so will the locations where value is created and shared. The new geo-economic order in the Indo-Pacific must promote prosperity as well as inclusion. This panel will identify the prerequisites for a green transition that benefits the Indo-Pacific’s aspirational populations.
Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Royal Government of Bhutan
Madeleine King, Minister for Natural Resources and Minister for Northern Australia, Australia
Tadashi Maeda, Chairman, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan
Mannat Jaspal, Director and Fellow, Climate and Energy, Observer Research Foundation - Middle East, United Arab Emirates
Moderator:
John Coyne, Director, National Security Program, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australia
10:20 - 10:30 (AU)
10:30 - 23:20 (AU)
Great-power rivalry has intensified an already fierce race to possess the technologies of tomorrow. The high-impact research that will define the trajectory of the Indo-Pacific is today concentrated in a few geographies. Governments, corporations, and citizens are concerned about future controls, restrictions, and inequities. This panel will identify the partnerships and policies that can nurture the secure, innovative and decentralised ecosystems which are now more important than ever, and that will ensure that no community or nation is left behind in the new tech age.
Andrew Shearer, Director-General, Office of National Intelligence, Australia
Mallory Knodel, Founder, Social Web Foundation, United States of America
Anirban Sarma, Director, Digital Societies Initiative, Observer Research Foundation, India
Yuka Koshino, Associate Fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Japan
Moderator:
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australia
11:20 - 12:10 (AU)
With the results from the United States presidential election being declared, this panel will reflect on the next steps for the partnerships that define the Indo-Pacific. It will examine how the Quad will adapt and evolve in the coming years, and how the countries of the region are creating new mechanisms to ensure their collective security and prosperity.
Marise Payne, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia
Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation
Lisa Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Australia India Institute, Australia
Moderator:
Stephen Dziedzic, Foreign Affairs Reporter (Asia Pacific), ABC News, Australia
12:10 - 12:30 (AU)
