As the world’s geopolitical and economic balance shifts eastwards, the Indo-Pacific region is emerging as an area of vital strategic importance. However, it is also a region of rising tensions and increasing geopolitical competition. The EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy, presented in September 2021, is a significant moment for the development of EU policy in this region. This event explores Europe’s deepening engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, and encompasses the perspectives of the EU, Member States and regional actors.

About the Speakers:

George Cunningham, is a Strategic Adviser on Asia-Pacific Affairs in the European External Action Service. He was previously Deputy EU Ambassador to Afghanistan (2016-18). Before this he served as EEAS Deputy Head of Division for China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mongolia (2012-16).

Shada Islam  is an advisor and analyst on Europe’s relations with Asia and Africa. She is a member of the European Policy Centre’s Strategic Council and she is a Non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development. In 2017, she was selected as one of the 20 most influential women in Brussels by the magazine Politico.

Dr Frédéric Grare is a Senior Policy Fellow with the Asia Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He previously worked in the  French Ministry for Europe and External Affairs where he focused on the Indo-Pacific. Prior to this he served as the South Asia programme director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.