The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Podcast

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. Against this backdrop, in APF Canada’s latest episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, The RAND Corporation’s Senior Defence Analyst Derek Grossman chats with the Foundation’s Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla about India’s rise and influence. They discuss the elections and their potential outcomes, including for Canada. They explore India’s policy of strategic autonomy and the South Asian giant’s geopolitical dance between the U.S., China, and Russia. And they evaluate India’s domestic and foreign policies, including the current irritants and strains in Canada-India relations.

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 episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, recorded on the sidelines of our May 18 townhall discussion in partnership with the University of B.C.'s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (Institute of Asian Research), UBC Myanmar Initiative, and Canada's International Development Research Centre, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research and Strategy Vina Nadjibulla talks with Aung Myo Min, Minister of Human Rights with the National Unity Government, Myanmar’s government in exile. __ Alors que l’attention internationale se tourne vers les guerres dévastatrices en Europe et au Moyen-Orient, l’escalade de la guerre civile entre la junte militaire et les forces pro-démocratiques au Myanmar fait rage. Depuis la prise du pouvoir par les militaires lors d’un coup d’État en février 2021, des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont été tuées et quelque 2,5 millions d’autres ont été déplacées, la junte tentant de contrecarrer la résistance civile grandissante. Dans cet épisode de Conversations Asie-Pacifique, enregistré en marge de notre discussion ouverte du 18 mai en partenariat avec la School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (Institute of Asian Research) de la University of B.C., la UBC Myanmar Initiative et le Centre de recherches pour le développement international du Canada, Vina Nadjibulla, vice-présidente de la recherche et de la stratégie de la FAP Canada, s’entretient avec Aung Myo Min, ministre des Droits de la personne au sein du gouvernement d’unité nationale, le gouvernement en exil du Myanmar.

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.” Santiago – a key speaker and participant at the Climate Solutions conference that was part of APF Canada’s Canada-in-Asia Conferences in Singapore in February 2024 – discusses what he sees as the two major global challenges of the current era: increased inequality and the climate crisis. With 47 active projects across 17 Asian economies, Santiago further explains the work of IDRC in the interconnected global ecosystems of food production and security.

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. Mark – a speaker at the Climate Solutions conference that was part of APF Canada’s Canada-in-Asia Conferences in Singapore in February 2024 – discusses innovations in water supply management and the importance of engagement with businesses and government to bolster connections in the Asia Pacific. Originally from the U.K., where he worked for Thames Water as a water network engineer, Mark relocated to Asia in 2007 and has spent the last 16 years helping the region tackle challenges related to their water supply management.

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. Dr. Sharma – a speaker at the Agri-food conference that was part of APF Canada’s Canada-in-Asia Conferences in Singapore in February – discusses the importance of food security in plant-based proteins, Canada’s connection as a ‘food basket’ brimming with the peas used in Shandi’s plant-based proteins, and the growing Asia business opportunities for other firms and entrepreneurs in this agri-food sector.

The State of Southeast Asia 2024 Survey is the sixth in an annual series of surveys conducted by the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. Based on nearly 2,000 high-value respondents from 10 Southeast Asian economies, the survey’s 72-page summary report captures perceptions of ASEAN, China, the U.S., broader Asia, the EU, and Canada. In this podcast episode, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, Vina Nadjibulla, discussed the survey’s findings – including Southeast Asia’s top economic and geopolitical preoccupations and the fact that China edged past the U.S. this year to become the prevailing choice if the region were forced to align itself in the ongoing US-China rivalry.

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. Alex Hanly, CEO of Lithium Universe Limited (Australia), explains how his company is expanding its footprint in Quebec and the growing opportunities he sees for Canada’s lithium sector in the coming decade.

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. Kugelman, an expert on shifting geopolitics of South Asia and U.S.-India relations, is a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine and has written extensively for The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and The Wall Street Journal. He offers his thoughts on the global implications of India’s economic and geopolitical rise, as well as the current and future state of Canada-India relations.

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 Taiwans 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. An APF Canada Distinguished Fellow, he is a currently a visiting professor at the Taipei School of Economic and Political Science and had a front-row seat for Taiwan's consequential elections on January 13.

At the first anniversary of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), and recently returned from the Indo-Pacific Strategy Forum in Ottawa on defence and trade engagement with the region, the Foundation’s Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla discusses the implementation and implications of the ‘generational’ foreign policy codified within the IPS.

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 latest Investment Monitor 2022 annual report focused solely on research and development (R&D), including what it can tell us about current relations and potential in R&D foreign direct investment collaboration between Canada and the Asia Pacific. For more on the latest investment flows between Canada and Asia, read our latest Investment Monitor 2022 report on R&D at asiapacific.ca

Ranjit Singh, researcher at the AI on the Ground Initiative, Data & Society Research Institute, invites us to reframe our thinking about how technology impacts the globe’s largest populations in the Global South. They, in fact, form the “majority world” rather than a collective remainder in the conceptualization, use, and application of technology. Observing how tech actually affects communities on the ground and the nature of their relationship with technology can help tailor and improve the experience of data-driven solutions, in practical terms.

In this episode, Sanjana Hattotuwa, special advisor at ICT4Peace Foundation and research fellow in Dunedin, Aotearoa NZ, prompts us to ask better questions about online content: how does it inform our world view? What values does it advance? And how do we wrest control of it? Drawing the analogy of DJs and clubs, Sanjana breaks down the role of content creators and the platforms that host them, as well as what it all means for the millions of users in the Global South who have long “begged” for greater attention to these issues before the West woke up to them.

Rasheed Griffith sits down with Elina Noor to outline the technology landscape, competing priorities, and structural constraints in the Caribbean. Cautioning observers to see the Caribbean for what it actually is rather than what we want to see in it, he debunks assumptions about China’s presence and influence in the region through initiatives like the Digital Silk Road. Rasheed is non-resident senior fellow with the Asia and Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue and Head of Operations at Merkle Hedge, a Canadian financial tech firm focused on high-frequency trading strategies in cryptocurrency markets.

In this sobering reflection on the continued impact of systemic injustice in the digital age, Sara Cole Stratton argues powerfully for the inclusion of different worldviews and knowledge systems. Her unique perspective of viewing digital tech through a Māori lens is borne of first-hand encounters with racism and the effects of colonial imposition on everyday life and decision-making, from institutionalized laws to algorithmic bias in technology. Sara is the founder of Māori Lab in NZ and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for AI Fairness.

References: Urs Gasser and Virgilio Almeida, “Futures of Digital Governance,” Communications of the ACM, March 2022, Vol. 65 No. 3, Pages 30-32, https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2022/3/258905-futures-of-digital-governance/fulltext. Beyond the North-South Fork on the Road to AI Governance: An Action Plan for Democratic & Distributive Integrity, https://digitalrights.ai/report/

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada President & CEO Jeff Nankivell discusses emergent issues and ideas with thought-leaders from across the Asia Pacific in this ongoing podcast series. Asia Pacific Conversations is where conversation meets innovation at the intersection of Canada-Asia relations.