Dear colleagues,
I hope this email finds you well.
On Friday, April 12th from 13:30-18:30 the following symposium will be hosted by the Canadian Embassy and the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA).

We do hope that you can attend. The deadline for registration is Wednesday, April 10th, 2019.

Feel free to share within your networks.

I look forward to see you at the event on April 12th.

Sincerely,

Stephen R. NAGY

Middle Powers roles and interests in the Indo-Pacific: Identifying opportunity and mitigating challenges in a region in flux

Date: Friday, April 12th, 2019

Location: Embassy of Canada, Tokyo

Host: Embassy of Canada and Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA)

Synopsis:

The 21st century's central economic, political and security nexus will be centred on the Indo-Pacific region, stretching from North and South America, through the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. Littoral states in the emerging region will be reconfiguring their foreign policies to adapt to the development of the region but also to manage growing geopolitical competition between major powers. Countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan, and others will need to find ways to balance their economic and security interests as great power rivalries place increased demands on their traditional allies and friends. This symposium aims to explore how middle powers will negotiate the Indo-Pacific era through a dialogue focusing on the following areas:

1) How do different middle powers envision the importance, purpose and concept of the "Indo-Pacific" era?

2) As middle powers, what are the policy priorities that are areas of concern?

3) Is there a role for coordination of middle powers in the Indo-Pacific? If so, what are the drivers of that cooperation and what is the purpose?

Format:

Part I.

Keynote speech/ Panel framing the topic of "Middle powers in the Indo-Pacific"

Dr. Yoshihide Soeya, Keio University

Part II.

Panel Discussion with representatives of Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India



-Professor Jonathan Ping, Bond University, Australia

-Professor Stephen Nagy, ICU/ JIIA, Canada

-Dr. Yoshihide Soeya, Keio University, Japan

-Professor JJ Suh, ICU, South Korea

-Dr. Jagannath P. Panda, Research Fellow & Centre Coordinator, East Asia; Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses [IDSA], India

-Dr Naoko Funatsu (JIIA representative)



45m intra-panel discussion followed by 45m of Q&A with audience



Part I.

13:30-13:40 Opening remarks

a) Canadian Embassy Official

b) JIIA Official

c) Introduction of symposium (Professor Stephen NAGY)



13:40-14:15 Opening discussion framing both Indo-Pacific and Middle Powers

Professor Soeya



14:15-14:45 Q&A



14:45-15:00 Break



Part II.

15:00-15:05 Panel introduction



15:05-16:00 Panel Discussion



16:00-16:45 Q&A



16:45-17:00 Closing Remarks

a) JIIA Official

b) Embassy Official

c) Professor Stephen Nagy



17:00-18:30 Reception



Time: Friday, April 12th, 2019 from 13:30 to 18:30. Doors will open at 13:00.



Venue: Embassy of Canada, Oscar Peterson Theatre, 7-3-38 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Map http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/japan-japon/assets/images/map_tokyo.gif



Organizers: Embassy of Canada and the Japan Institute of International Affairs



Language: English



Registration: R.S.V.P to TOKYOG@international.gc.ca with your name, title and affiliation by Wednesday, April 10th. Pre-registration is required (access will be denied to those not included in the guest list), and seating is limited.



Access: Visitor access to the Embassy requires Government-issued photo identification, and bags will be searched. We regret that parking on the Embassy grounds is not available.



Contact: Embassy of Canada, Tel: 03-5412-6487