The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this first episode of Kakehashi Conversations, Alexander Treasure, a former APF Canada Research Scholar for Northeast Asia, sits down with three-time Olympic Foil Fencer champion Eleanor Harvey. Eleanor competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, bringing home a bronze medal in the individual foil event and helping Team Canada place fourth in the Women’s Foil Team event. She looks back on her competitive fencing career and her time in Japan, sharing with Alex how she defines her success and continues to push barriers in women’s sports.

In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Vina Nadjibulla, APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy, looks back at the key developments and lessons in Canada-Asia relations from 2024. And she dusts off her crystal ball to discuss the critical themes, key countries, and big trends we’ll be watching at APF Canada in 2025. Hosted by our Communications Director Michael Roberts, this first podcast episode of 2025 touches down on Trump 2.0 and the implications of the new U.S. administration for Canada and Asia. It explores political instability and the changing nature of international trade and globalization, discusses continuing conflict on the high seas and competition in space, the Arctic, and the AI realm, and provides insights into Canada’s future relations with China and India in the coming year.

Southeast Asia boasts a population of 660 million and, as a region, represents Canada’s fourth-largest merchandise trading partner, with trade reaching $40.7 billion in 2022. In this episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, APF Canada’s Program Manager, International Trade & Investment, Anastasia Ufimtseva, chats with Noel Navin, the Director of International Sales (Southeast Asia) for Agropur. Agropur is a dairy co-operative based in Québec and represents some 3,000 dairy farmers and producers in the province. Ten years ago, Agropur established a sales office and innovation centre in Southeast Asia, with headquarters in Singapore. In this podcast episode, Noel discusses the challenges and successes of his company’s journey into Asia that began a decade ago.

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.