event

Ocean Nations: The 3rd Annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue

Mon. September 18th, 2023
New York, NY

Reserve your spot for the 3rd Annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue, hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo, in New York City.

This year’s program will highlight voices and perspectives from island nations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. As global interest increases across the two oceans, key leaders from island nations, global scholars, and other stakeholders will gather to discuss and hear island nations priorities and interests. The agenda will highlight how nations pursue their interests and respond to regional challenges in today’s increasingly complex world.

Agenda

Day 1 - Monday, September 18, 2023

9:00–10:00 AM
Registration

10:00–10:15 AM
Welcome Remarks

  • Tino Cuéllar, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Atsushi Sunami, President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation

10:15–11:00 AM
Morning Address - Pacific Islands Forum

  • Henry Puna, Secretary-General, Pacific Islands Forum
  • Moderator: Elina Noor, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

11:00–11:15 AM
Coffee Break

11:15 AM–12:00 PM
Panel Conversation: Islands and Geopolitics

Island nations play a critical role in regional geopolitical conversations across the Indo-Pacific, yet many island nations remain on the periphery of regional initiatives, which are often decided by bigger players. How do island states view the current geopolitical landscape in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and what are the implications, threats, and opportunities?

  • Margo Deiye, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and the International Seabed Authority, Republic of Nauru
  • Ilana Seid, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Republic of Palau 
  • Moderator: Darshana M. Baruah, Fellow, South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

12:00–1:15 PM
Networking Lunch

1:15–1:45 PM
Fireside Chat: Island States and Digital Public Infrastructure: A Way Forward

  • Keyzom Ngodup Massally, Head of Digital Programming, United Nations Development Program 
  • Moderator: Rudra Chaudhuri, Director, Carnegie India 

1:45–2:00 PM
Coffee Break

2:00–2:45 PM
Keynote Address: President Ranil Wickremesinghe

  • Ranil Wickremesinghe, President, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
  • Moderator: Daniel Baer, Senior Vice President for Policy Research and Director, Europe Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

2:45–3:15 PM
U.S. Special Address: Richard Verma

  • Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, U.S. Department of State
  • Moderator: Darshana M. Baruah, Fellow, South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

3:15–3:30 PM
Coffee Break

3:30–4:15 PM
Closing Keynote Address: Mark Brown

  • Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
  • Moderator: Darshana M. Baruah, Fellow, South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

4:15–4:30 PM
Closing Remarks

  • Hide Sakaguchi, President, Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation
  • Darshana M. Baruah, Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

4:30–6:00 PM
Reception

Day 2 - Tuesday, September 19, 2023

8:00–9:00 AM
Breakfast and Registration

9:00–9:45 AM
High Level Roundtable: Maritime Security and Seabed Mining*

The transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy has increased demand for mining of precious metals and resources. At the center is the prospect of seabed mining to extract minerals from the ocean floor. As island nations are at an impasse, weighing the projected impacts, costs, and opportunities, what lies ahead for seabed mining in terms of governance, regulations, and impact to the states and the region at large?

  • Elisabetta Menini, PhD Candidate, Duke University
  • Teburoro Tito, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Republic of Kiribati
  • Moderator: Satyendra Prasad, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Republic of Fiji 

9:45–10:00 AM
Coffee Break

10:00–11:00 AM
High Level Roundtable: Islands and Digital Transformation*

For many countries, the promise of government and economic transformation through digitalization is tempered by a growing list of cyber, informational, and data-related hazards. For island nations, these are compounded by connectivity difficulties along with increasingly attendant geopolitical pressures. This discussion will address the prospects and challenges of digitalization from the perspective of small island nations, as well as the range of capacities needed to meet their distinct priorities and contexts.

  • Tomoyuki Hirata, Chief Representative, Washington D.C., Japan Bank for International Cooperation
  • Viliami Va’inga Tone, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kingdom of Tonga
  • Michael Schiffer, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Asia, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • Moderator: Elina Noor, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

11:00–11:15 AM
Coffee Break

11:15 AM–12:00 PM
High Level Roundtable: Blue Economy and Climate Action*

The blue economy is a critical sector for economic growth for small island nations, which rely on the development of a sustainable ocean economy. As climate change poses pressing existential challenges for island states, what can nations do to build their blue economy? And what climate action must take place to mitigate climate fallout and ensure regional resilience?  

  • Atsushi Watanabe, Senior Fellow, Ocean Policy Research Institute at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation
  • Satyendra Prasad, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Republic of Fiji
  • Alison Clausen, Deputy Coordinator of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development at IOC-UNESCO
  • Moderator: Masanori Kobayashi, Senior Research Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation 

12:00–1:00 PM
Lunch

*Indicates a closed-door program. To apply for consideration, please indicate your interest in the roundtable programming on the registration form and we will be in touch once decisions have been made.*

EconomyTradeClimate ChangeSecurityForeign PolicyGlobal GovernanceNorth AmericaUnited StatesTürkiyeNorth AfricaEgyptSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesSouth AsiaIndiaEast AsiaChinaWestern Europe
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar

President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar is the tenth president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A former justice of the Supreme Court of California, he has served three U.S. presidential administrations at the White House and in federal agencies, and was the Stanley Morrison Professor at Stanford University, where he held appointments in law, political science, and international affairs and led the university’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

Atsushi Sunami

Atsushi Sunami is the President of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, as well as the President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He is also Director of the SciREX center and Executive Advisor to the President at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and Guest Professor at the Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation at Waseda University.

Evan A. Feigenbaum

Vice President for Studies, Acting Director, Carnegie China

Evan A. Feigenbaum is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees its work in Washington, Beijing, New Delhi, and Singapore on a dynamic region encompassing both East Asia and South Asia. He served twice as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and advised two Secretaries of State and a former Treasury Secretary on Asia.

Ilana Seid

Ilana V. Seid is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative for the Republic of Palau to the United Nations.

Margo Deiye

Ambassador Deiye is the Ambassador of Nauru to the United States and Permanent Representative the United Nations.

Darshana M. Baruah

Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program

Darshana M. Baruah is a nonresident scholar with the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where she directs the Indian Ocean Initiative.

Keyzom Ngodup Massally

Keyzom Ngodup Massally is the head of Digital Programming, UNDP Chief Digital Office.

Rudra Chaudhuri

Director, Carnegie India

Rudra Chaudhuri is the director of Carnegie India. His research focuses on the diplomatic history of South Asia, contemporary security issues, and the important role of emerging technologies and digital public infrastructure in diplomacy, statecraft, and development. He and his team at Carnegie India chair and convene the Global Technology Summit, co-hosted with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Ranil Wickremesinghe

H.E. Ranil Wickremesinghe is the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Richard Verma

Richard R. Verma serves as the Deputy Secretary of State for Management & Resources at the U.S. Department of State.

Mark Brown

Mark Brown is the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands.

Hide Sakaguchi

Hide Sakaguchi serves as the President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

Teburoro Tito

Teburoro Tito is currently the Kiribati Ambassador to the United Nations, the United States, and also the Kiribati Ambassador Designate to Mexico and Canada. Prior to his appointment to the diplomatic service of his country, Mr. Tito had represented and served his people as the President of Kiribati. During his tenure as president he arranged for Kiribati’s membership of the United Nations and represented Kiribati at the annual UN General Assembly Summits from 1999 to 2002.

Elisabetta Menini

Elisabetta Menini is a PHD Candidate in the Marine Science and Conservation graduate program at Duke University.

Satyendra Prasad

Nonresident Senior Fellow, South Asia Program, Sustainability, Climate and Geopolitics Program

Dr. Satyendra Prasad is a nonresident senior fellow in the South Asia and Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Programs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Tomoyuki Hirata

Tomoyuki Hirata is the representative of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)'s Washington, DC office.

Viliami Va’inga Tone

Ambassador Tone is the Ambassador of Tonga to the United States and the Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Michael Schiffer

Michael Schiffer is the the Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia at USAID.

Elina Noor

Senior Fellow, Asia Program

Elina Noor is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at Carnegie where she focuses on developments in Southeast Asia, particularly the impact and implications of technology in reshaping power dynamics, governance, and nation-building in the region.

Atsushi Watanabe

Atsushi Watanabe is a senior research fellow with the Ocean Policy Institute at Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Since 2018, he has been a senior researcher at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Institute for Ocean Policy, leading policy research on blue economy and blue carbon. Since July 2020, he has served as a director of the Japan Blue Economy Association.

Dan Baer

Senior Vice President for Policy Research, Director, Europe Program

Dan Baer is senior vice president for policy research and director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Under President Obama, he was U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)  and he also served deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Alison Clausen

Alison Clausen is the Deputy Coordinator of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development at IOC-UNESCO.

Masanori Kobayashi

Masanori Kobayashi is a Senior Research Fellow in the Ocean Policy Research Institute of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

Henry Puna

Henry Puna is the Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum.