The United Kingdom’s Minister of State (Indo-Pacific), Anne-Marie Trevelyan, visited Murdoch University today for a policy dialogue on current and emerging challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
The Minister was accompanied by Her Excellency Vicki Treadell, British High Commissioner to Australia, and Maria Rennie, UK Consul General Western Australia.
The round table was hosted by the University’s Indo-Pacific Research Centre (IPRC) from the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
The Indo-Pacific region encompasses some 4.3 billion people, representing two-thirds of the world’s economy. The region accounts for 17.5% of UK’s global trade and 10% of foreign direct investment.
Britain is actively forging closer links with the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on the maintenance of regional peace and stability.
The IPRC provides expertise and contemporary understanding of the Indo-Pacific region and its challenges, and Minister Trevelyan heard from experts on security, sustainability, food security, regulation, and governance.
IPRC Director Professor Jacqueline Lo said governments and other agencies from all over the world were seeking research-based insights to improve their understanding of the rapidly changing landscape in the Indo-Pacific.
This visit by Minister Trevelyan is testament to the quality of our researchers in the IPRC and the insights and expertise they can provide to governments on the challenges and opportunities emerging from this growing and dynamic region,” Professor Lo said.
Participants in today’s roundtable included political economist Dr Jacqui Baker; criminologist Associate Professor Mark Briskey; Murdoch University’s Defence Research Group lead Andre De Souza; political science expert Professor Kanishka Jayasuriya; and the Director of the State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, and International Chair in Agriculture and Food Security Professor Rajeev Varshney.
Prior to the round table, Minister Trevelyan toured Murdoch University’s award-winning academic building Boola Katitjin with Chancellor Gail McGowan and Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks.
Learn more about Murdoch's Indo-Pacific Research Centre.
Established to foster collaboration across the Indo-Pacific, the Centre consolidates the research strengths within Murdoch’s Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines as well more broadly across the University to address significant challenges in the region.
It builds upon the formative Asia Research Centre’s international reputation for high impact research and training, and draws on research expertise from the Africa Research Group and the Centre for Responsible Citizenship and Sustainability.