Message from the CEO

Dr. Ashutosh Misra

It is an absolute honour and privilege to write the CEO’s note for the Annual Report 2021 of the Institute for Australia India Engagement. It gives me great satisfaction to note that IAIE continues to scale greater heights since its launch in September 2018 by the Indian High Commissioner Dr A.M. Gondane. The Institute has not looked back ever since and continued to promote greater mutual country understanding and complement the objectives of the Australia India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through policy research, policy dialogues and multi-disciplinary engagements.

The publicity and profiling of the Institute has been ever expanding through the regularly updated IAIE website www.iaie.org.au which has recorded over 85,000 hits so far. Over the years, an increasing number of scholars, diplomats, policymakers, business groups, community associations and media houses in Australia, India and internationally have engaged with us regularly at various levels. This testifies the Institute’s growing leadership as the first independent policy think-tank in Australia focused on Australia-India bilateral relations. We have continued to bolster mutual understanding in sync with our vision — the deeper we understand I must emphasise that like 2020, year 2021 has also been a challenging year due to Covid-19 outbreak posing enormous difficulties in hosting events, engagements and initiatives because of travel restrictions, social distancing regulations and strict Covid-19 protocols. Nonetheless, IAIE has not only survived but thrived. In this context, on behalf of the Executive Committee I extend my sincere gratitude towards our highly accomplished Board members and international panel of advisors, for their stellar support and wisdom. In 2021 we were delighted to welcome Prof Shaun Star as our new Board member who has been instrumental in furthering IAIE’s mission objectives on numerous fronts, including research, policy dialogues and public events, and above all the Student Mentoring and Research Training (SMART) program. This also gives me immense pride to share that our distinguished Board member Dr Sarah Kelly has been awarded the Order of Australia medal and also been appointed the Honorary Consul General of the Embassy of Israel in Australia. Similar, Prof Star was awarded the India Impact Award at the prestigious IABCA Awards. I am also very proud to be appointed the National Sports Chair at the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) which has allowed IAIE to deepen its institutional collaboration with AIBC and with Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket for promoting sporting ties between the two countries. Towards the latter half of 2021, as the pandemic’s effects began to wane, we were able to host more dignitaries and guests and also hold in-person dialogues, networking events and community engagements with the AIBC and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Queensland Cricket, Queensland Police and the Brisbane City Council. In 2021, an international dialogue on “Role of Constitutional Democracies in Shaping the Emerging World Order”, commemorating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav,celebrating India’s 75th year of independence made an impressive impact in shaping the national and international strategic discourse on the Indo-Pacific and Australia-India relations. Similarly, the dialogue with AIBC on “Tracing the Quad’s evolution and India-Australia bilateral history” has enabled the two institutions to instil

new insights on the rapidly evolving quadrilateral relationship between Australia, India, United States and Japan in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, the Triveni Dialogue on “Australia and India Economic Strategies: Next Steps” jointly hosted by IAIE, the Centre for India Australia Studiesat the O P Jindal Global University and AIBC was a very timely and enriching initiatives for the policy makers, strategic experts, academics and the government stakeholders. political leaders in furthering new ideas and insights. The dialogue hosted a high-powered panel including H.E. Barry O’Farrell, the Australia High Commissioner to India; H.E. Gitesh A. Sarma, the Indian High Commissioner to Australia; former diplomat Ambassador Anil Wadhwa, Secretary East, Government of India and the Author of Australia Economic Strategy 2020; and Mr. Peter Varghese, AO, Chancellor of the University of Queensland, former Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia Government and the author of the India Economic Strategy to 2035. IAIE has remained committed to championing social issues and was delighted to participate in the Bridge to Brisbane run organised by the Brisbane City Council to raise funds for Guide Dogs Australia. On the publication front, IAIE’s partnership with India News has continued to shape strategic thinking and community engagement through through-provoking editorials, special features and lead articles written by policy makers, diplomats, military officials, academics, strategic analyst, sports persons and community leaders on issues that lay at the core of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. As the Editor-in-Chief,I have utilised the editorial space to create greater awareness about India in Australia and vice versa. India News YouTube TV has continued to host virtual and in-person interviews with politicians, academics, businessmen, artists, community leaders and sportspersons in Australia and India on issues of mutual interests. IAIE members have also prolifically published not only in India News but also in international journals, books, magazines, newspapers and online portals which has helped profile IAIE’s expertise far and wide. I must especially flag the success of the SMART program which has enabled IAIE to engage with the youth in India and also get to know how they perceive the future of our bilateral relationship. Their short and crisp pieces for India News and IAIE have revealed new ideas and thinking on issues that are not only critical for Australia and India, but also for the world at large. We look forward to continuing the program in collaboration with JGU and also with the Bennett University in India, with which we have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote research and academic collaborations. As the CEO and Executive Director I have been very fortunate in receiving an outstanding support of the Board members who continue to guide our strategic plan and engagements as we look forward to breaking new grounds in 2022. With the same token, a special note of thanks goes to our International Panel of Advisors that remains our constant source of fresh insights, research ideas and professional networking in Australia, India, and internationally. Without its stellar support IAIE would not have been able to achieve in what has been yet another challenging year for the world in which we currently live. Also, our accounting team led by Mr Matt Connor remains the backbone of IAIE’s record keeping, accounting and auditing processes and keeping us up-to-date with ASIC’s compliance requirements. As international borders reopen and the flow of people gathers steam in 2022,we look forward to work closely with the Australian, Indian and international partners and stakeholders, in making Australia India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, one of the most vibrant of partnerships in the international system, especially Indo-Pacific. Australia and India ties, which have now reached a historic high are well poised to play a significant role in shaping the emerging rule-based, transparent and accountable world order. In this context we remain steadfast as ever in our institutional resolve to play our requisite role in helping the Australia India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership realise its full potential. Thank you. Sincerely,

(Ashutosh Misra) Brisbane, 15 February 2021