On June 6, 2016, the Russian International Affairs Council held roundtable “Russia and Australia: approaches to the issues of security and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific” with participation of an Australian National University (ANU) delegation led by Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb, Head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Deputy Secretary of Defence (1988-91); Director of the Joint Intelligence Organisation (1986-88).
On June 6, 2016, the Russian International Affairs Council held roundtable “Russia and Australia: approaches to the issues of security and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific” with participation of an Australian National University (ANU) delegation led by Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb, Head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Deputy Secretary of Defence (1988-91); Director of the Joint Intelligence Organisation (1986-88).
The Australian team also included top experts on security and international relations, among them Michael Wesley, Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs; Chris Barrie, Assistant Professor at Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Chief of the Defense Force in 1998-2002; Richard Rigby, Executive Director of ANU China Institute; and Kyle Wilson, Visiting Professor at ANU Centre for European Studies.
The roundtable opening was attended by Ambassador Vyacheslav Trubnikov, RIAC Vice-President, Member of IMEMO Board, Army General; RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov; Australian Charge D'Affairs in Moscow Melissa O'Rourke; and Paul Dibb.
Having brought together representatives of the government, think tanks, universities and business, the roundtable was split into three sessions, the key one on security in Asia-Pacific, which attracted leading Russian pundits on defense and security, economists and diplomats for a day-long debate on Russian and Australian strategic interests in Asia-Pacific, common regional challenges, as well as the potential for multilateral economic institutes in the region.
Asia-Pacific in view of its conflict potential, risks of armed conflicts and solutions was covered by Sergey Rogov, Academic Adviser at RAS Institute for US and Canadian Studies; Viktor Sumsky, Director of ASEAN Center at MGIMO; Ambassador Alexander Panov, Head of Diplomacy Chair at MGIMO, Chief Researcher at RAS Institute for US and Canadian Studies; Georgy Toloraya, Head of Russia’s Asian Strategy Center at RAS Institute for Economic Studies; and Chris Barrie.
Leonid Grigoryev, Head of Global Economy Division of World Economy and Politics Department at Higher School of Economics; Natalia Stapran, Director of the Russian Center for APEC Studies at RANEPA; and Richard Rigby talked on political and economic interests of Russia and Australia in multilateral economic institutions of Asia-Pacific
Ambassador Vyacheslav Dolgov, Dr. Kortunov, Dr. Wesley and Dr. Wilson focused on bilateral relationships.
“The event is truly unparalleled since the Russian-Australian contacts are extremely limited, and the meeting must have been the first during the past decade,” said Ambassador Dolgov.
Moderators: Igor Denisov, senior research fellow of the Institute for International Studies at MGIMO-University, and Olga Mostinskaya, Editor-in-Chief, Indeks bezopasnosti [Security Index] journal.
The roundtable was the first in the series of events planned by RIAC, as it is going to accompany the Australian delegation at several more discussions with representatives of Russian foreign policy agencies.
Roundtable “Russia and Australia: approaches to the issues of security and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region”
