Asia Pacific Conversations

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Justin Bassi, Executive Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an independent, non-partisan think-tank based in Canberra, joins the Foundation’s Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla for a wide-ranging conversation. Their discussion, recorded on May 7, touches on the outcome and impact of U.S.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, we welcome a very special guest – Dr. Raja Mohan, APF Canada’s inaugural Indo-Pacific Visiting Scholar, under our new Indo-Pacific Fellowship Programs banner.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, recorded in Vancouver, Canada, on March 13, 2025, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla reflects on the first 50 days of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration through an Asia Pacific lens.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, recorded in Sydney, Australia on February 13, 2025, APF Canada’s President and CEO Jeff Nankivell engages in a candid conversation with Ryan Neelam, Director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program at the Lowy Institute, Australia’s world-renowned independent international policy think-tank.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada hosted Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, on February 3, 2025, for a discussion on the critical maritime challenges and strategic imperatives facing Canada in the 21st century. The Vice-Admiral delivered opening remarks before engaging in a conversation with APF Canada Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla and taking questions from the audience. 

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, looks back at the key developments and lessons in Canada-Asia relations from 2024. And she dusts off her crystal ball to discuss the critical themes, key countries, and big trends we’ll be watching at APF Canada in 2025.

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Senior Program Manager for Trade and Investment, Anastasia Ufimtseva, chats with Colin Harris, one of British Columbia, Canada's most successful technology entrepreneurs.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Major-General Greg Smith, Director-General of International Security Policy with Canada's Department of National Defence, unpacks Canada's evolving military engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. 

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Professor T. V. Paul, Distinguished James McGill Professor of International Relations at McGill University and a Distinguished Fellow with APF Canada, unpacks his latest book, The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, we turn a spotlight on Taiwan following two recent APF Canada interactions with Asia’s high-tech powerhouse – the Taipei Security Dialogue in Taiwan on September 12 and an APF Canada event in Vancouver with Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Canada Representative Dr. Harry Tseng on September 9. 

This episode of Asia Pacific Conversations features an encore audio presentation of our special event with Canada’s Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair.

At this public event in Vancouver on August 8, 2024, Minister Blair discussed Canada’s contributions to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific with our Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla.

This episode of Asia Pacific Conversations features a discussion about the dramatic events in Bangladesh over the past several weeks with Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, shares her experiences – and international security takeaways – as a ‘distinguished visitor’ at Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, the world’s largest combined joint maritime exercises held every two years in and around the Hawaiian Islands, with our Communications Director Michael Roberts. 

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, discusses her takeaways and concerns following a multi-country visit to the Indo-Pacific in May/June that included meetings, summits, and dialogues in the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, and Mongolia, where she participated in the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security.

Southeast Asia boasts a population of 660 million and, as a region, represents Canada’s fourth-largest merchandise trading partner, with trade reaching $40.7 billion in 2022. 

India is a rising regional and global power and a champion of peace and security across the Indo-Pacific. Its growing economic might and strategic influence place India in a unique position as it navigates expanding great power rivalries at its doorstep and beyond.

India is also currently in the late stages of its 2024 national elections (April 19 to June 1), the largest in world history, with nearly one billion people eligible to cast their ballots.

As international attention has turned to the devastating wars in Europe and the Middle East, the escalating civil war between the military junta and pro-democracy forces in Myanmar rages on. Since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat, tens of thousands of people have been killed, and some 2.5 million people have been displaced as the junta attempts to thwart a growing civilian resistance. 

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Santiago Alba-Corral, Director of the International Development Research Centre’s Climate Resilient Food Systems Program, discusses the ongoing work of this Canadian institution in supporting research and researchers in developing countries to find solutions to the “global challenges of humanity.”

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Trade and Investment Program Manager Anastasia Ufimtseva chats with Mark Nicol, an Asia-based tech-consultant and Business Development Lead (Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) for Calgary-based Mobiltex Data. Mobiltex develops innovative field and cloud-connected technologies to deliver operational, safety, and ESG benefits to energy, water utility, and critical infrastructure operations. 

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Trade and Investment Program Manager Anastasia Ufimtseva chats with Dr. Gaurav Sharma, co-founder of Shandi Global, a Singapore-based company with Canadian connections. Shandi creates sustainable, affordable, nutritious meat alternatives – or plant-based proteins – with the potential of benefitting millions worldwide.

In this podcast episode, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, joins our Communications Director Michael Roberts for a discussion of this year's findings from the State of Southeast Asia 2024 Survey – including Southeast Asia’s top economic and geopolitical preoccupations and the fact that China edged past the U.S.

In this special episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Trade and Investment Program Manager Anastasia Ufimtseva chats with two international business leaders active in climate solutions bridging Canada and Asia. Chad Rickaby, Managing Partner at Greentech Asia (Singapore/Vancouver) and CEO of ClimateDoor (Vancouver), explains how Canadian businesses have a unique opportunity to prioritize a region looking for products and services where Canada has an advantage.

As 968 million registered voters prepare to cast their ballots in the world’s largest election from April 19 to June 1, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, explores the critical dynamics of India’s upcoming elections with Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and their implications for stakeholders in Canada and around the world. 

2023 Marshall McLuhan Fellow Jodesz Gavilan, an investigative reporter with Rappler, an independent news outlet in the Philippines, discusses the challenges for human rights journalists in her country. In her conversation with APF Canada's Senior Program Manager, Erin Williams, she talks about covering the Duterte administration's 'war on drugs', fractious politics, and creating impactful solutions to social challenges. 

From January 29 to February 2, 2024, Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission held preliminary hearings as part of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions. As APF Canada continues to monitor and provide analysis on this process and its impact and importance for Canadians, our Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, unpacks this first round of hearings and their implications for our national security and the integrity of our democratic institutions.

In this special edition of Asia Pacific Conversations, Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada's Vice-President, Research & Strategy, discusses Taiwan's 2024 presidential and legislative elections with Dr. Yves Tiberghien. Yves is a Professor of Political Science, Director Emeritus of the Institute of Asian Research, and Co-Director of the Center for Japanese Research at the University B.C.

In this episode of the Asia Pacific Conversation podcast series, the Foundation’s Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, discusses the highs, lows, surprises, and disappointments following her participation at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week 2023 in San Francisco November 11-17.

APF Canada President and CEO Jeff Nankivell joins the Foundation's Business Asia Program Manager, Anastasia Ufimtseva, to discuss key findings and takeaways from the Investment Monitor 2022 annual report, including what it can tell us about changes in investment relations between Canada and the Asia Pacific in the post-pandemic environment.

In the first episode of the Asia Pacific Conversation podcast series, host Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO of APF Canada, sits down with Dr. Rebecca Sta Maria, APEC Executive Director, to discuss the opportunities and challenges the APEC region represents for Canada and what Canadians can gain from active engagement and participation in the region.