Events

The United Arab Emirates has built an increasingly high profile in regional affairs in recent years. Long known for its resource riches and welcoming attitude towards Western expatriates, it has developed and diversified its domestic economy at great speed, and deployed its armed forces on operations in Afghanistan, Yemen and in support of the anti–Islamic State coalition. It also has strong links with Australia, hosting the largest overseas concentration of ADF assets, as well as nearly 20,000 Australian expats, three Australian universities and two Australian international high schools. It is Australia’s main trading partner in the Middle East; more than 300 Australian companies operate there, and the UAE invests more than $11 billion in Australia.
 
Join Dr Rodger Shanahan, research fellow in the Lowy Institute’s West Asia program, for a discussion with Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, to explore the UAE’s view of the region and of its relationship with Australia.

Join us for what will be a memorable conversation with one of America’s most influential editors. Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove will speak with Jeffrey Goldberg about an extraordinary presidential election year, the global implications of the coronavirus pandemic, and America’s looming cold war with China.
 

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, China is facing a sustained economic downturn for the first time in decades, a development with profound implications not just for Australia, but for global growth. Three eminent Chinese economists, Xu Xiaonian of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, Huang Yiping of Peking University and Dr Wang Jiao of the University of Melbourne will discuss the prospects for China’s economy and the debate inside the government on possible stimulus measures. The event will be hosted by Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute.  
  

So close, but so far apart: only a few kilometres separate Papua New Guinea and Australia at the Torres Strait – but the coronavirus pandemic has made that close geography seem a world away.

Travel between the two countries requires a substantial amount of time in quarantine and that has put business, tourism, education and the diplomatic relationship under pressure. While Australia is dealing with a pandemic flare-up, PNG tentatively hopes it has escaped the worst from the virus for now.

Minds are now turning to what happens next: when relations can return to normal, what will have changed in the PNG-Australia relationship? What should be the priorities for two countries that share geography, history and economic interests?

Lowy Institute Non-Resident Fellow Annmaree O’Keeffe will host this discussion with former Papua New Guinea High Commissioner to Australia Sir Charles Lepani and former Australian High Commissioner to PNG Ian Kemish.

Join us for a conversation with Peter Hartcher, award-winning journalist and political editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, and Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow and author of the 2020 Lowy Institute Poll. Lowy Institute Research Director Alex Oliver will chair a discussion on how Australians' attitudes to the world and international relations are changing, examining important shifts in views of the United States, China and their leaders, as well as on critical policy issues such as climate change, global cooperation, and the role of intelligence agencies.

Join us for a conversation with one of Britain’s most influential journalists and commentators, hosted by Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove. The Economist is a truly global newspaper and this conversation will range across the entire globe: What have we learned from the pandemic about the state of globalisation? Has the US-China rivalry now become a fully fledged cold war? Is America too wounded to be the “leader of the free world”?

Join us for a conversation with Kurt Campbell and Michèle Flournoy, both senior officials in the Obama administration, and now influential voices in America’s foreign policy debate. Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove will chair a discussion on the US presidential election, Washington’s relations with Beijing, the global implications of the coronavirus pandemic, and the unrest on America's streets.
 

China’s decision to unilaterally implement national security legislation in Hong Kong has dealt a heavy blow to the city’s freedoms and autonomy. This latest move comes after years of intensifying pressure from Beijing, which has struck at the foundations of Hong Kong’s success as a global financial centre: individual liberties and the rule of law. With thousands of democracy activists already arrested in the last year and Beijing’s interventions becoming ever more intrusive, is this the end of Hong Kong as we know it?
 
Join Lowy Institute Research Fellow Ben Bland for a discussion on the future of Hong Kong with three people who have been at the heart of recent events: pro-democracy lawmaker Dennis Kwok, human rights activist Bonnie Leung and Financial Times correspondent Sue-Lin Wong.

Please join us for a conversation with one of Europe’s most respected statesmen, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt.  
 
Hosted by Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove, this conversation will examine topics such as the state of the European Union after Brexit and COVID-19, Sweden’s controversial approach to controlling the pandemic, and the transatlantic alliance as America’s presidential election approaches and Angela Merkel’s term draws to a close.

Once-in-a-century levels of disruption for the world economy as a result of COVID-19 have wrought their impact on the traditionally strong economic links between PNG and Australia. Shutdowns, travel bans and the potential of a public health crisis in both countries have sidelined the two-way traffic between our two countries. As both PNG and Australia start to ease the restrictions that have marked the first phase of the coronavirus response, how is business faring? How can people on both sides of the PNG-Australia relationship be ready to rebuild the ties between our two countries and prepare for recovery?

Join us for a conversation with two long-serving and distinguished former Australian foreign ministers, Julie Bishop and Gareth Evans. They will discuss Australia’s response to COVID-19, relations with China, the government’s call for an international inquiry on the origins of the pandemic, the world order after COVID-19, and the future of international education in Australia. Hosted by Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove, this Lowy Institute Live event will include questions from the audience.