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AIIA/EU Delegation Breakfast DiscussionIn joint partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Australia and the EU Consular Group in WA, AIIA WA invites you to join us for a breakfast discussion on the European Union’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific region stretching from East Africa to the Pacific Island States is a geographical reality and a strategic space. It is becoming the world’s centre of gravity, both in geo-economic and geo-political terms.
It is an incredibly dynamic region that contributes 60% of global GDP and two-thirds of global growth. But its stability is increasingly challenged: maritime and territorial disputes, internal crises and conflicts, and geo-political competition are intensifying.
The European Union and its Member States have significant stakes here: they are the top investor and development assistance provider and one of the region's biggest trading partners. What happens in the Indo-Pacific has global ramifications and impacts directly on the European Union’s prosperity and broader security.
For this reason, the Council of the European Union recently adopted a new Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Its goal is to work with all its partners in the region to respond to emerging dynamics and challenges. As like-minded partners, the already solid cooperation between the European Union and Australia is set to be further enhanced.
About the speakers:
Mr. Fabio Spadi is Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, EU Delegation to Australia, since September 2017. From 2013 to August 2017, he worked at the European External Action Service HQ at the Desk for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in the Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Division.
From 2006 to 2013 he was based at the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU (then EEAS) as Analyst for the Western Balkans/CIS region (South Caucasus) in the Analysis Division of the EU Intelligence Analysis Centre (EU INTCEN).
From 2002 to 2006 he worked for the Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General, European Commission.
He holds a Ph.D. in International Law from Scuola Superiore S. Anna, Pisa, Italy, a Master of Law (LL.M.) from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Laurea (MA) in Political Science from the Universi
The Hon. Professor Stephen Smith has been a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Western Australia since 2014. He is currently the Chairman of archTIS, Chairman of Sapien Cyber, Chair of the Advisory Board of the UWA Public Policy Institute, a member of the Board of the Perth USAsia Centre, and a Member of the Board of the LNG Marine Fuel Institute.
Professor Smith was Federal Member for Perth for the Australian Labor Party from March 1993 until September 2013. In a distinguished career spanning 20 years in the Australian Federal Parliament, Professor Smith served as the Minister for Defence, and prior to that, as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Trade.
Following his retirement from the Australian Parliament in 2013, Professor Smith was a member of the EY (Ernst and Young) Oceania Government and Public Sector Advisory Board (2014 - 2017), Chair of the Asia Desk, and a member of the Advisory Board of Perth Law firm Lavan (2014 – 2017), and a member of the Board of Hockey Australia (2013 - 2016).
Professor Smith completed his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Western Australia and has practiced as a Barrister and Solicitor in Perth. He completed a Master of Laws in Public International Law at London University, and subsequently lectured and tutored in Law in London.
Professor Mark Beeson is a Professor of International Politics at the University of Western Australia and the AIIA National Research Chair. He is co-editor of AJIA’s flagship publication, Navigating the New International Disorder: Australia in World Affairs 2011-2015. He was the founding editor of Critical Studies of the Asia Pacific.
Before joining UWA, he taught at Murdoch, Griffith, Queensland, York (UK), and Birmingham, where he was also head of department. He has also had visiting positions in the UK, Austria, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Hong Kong. His key research interests are international relations; international political economy; Australian foreign policy; regionalism; politics, security, and economics in the Asia-Pacific.
Tickets are free and include a complimentary breakfast. Pre-booking is essential to guarantee your seat.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Uwa University Club, Perth, WA, Australia 6009, Australia
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