Security & Defence PLuS was honoured to participate in the 2024 American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham) Alliance Summit, represented by Dr Ian Langford in Washington, DC, and New York, and Professor Wyn Bowen in London. During the London phase of the summit, Security & Defence PLuS hosted the delegation at King’s College London for a panel discussion on AUKUS.
AmCham: Access to Opportunity
The AmCham Alliance Summit brings together business leaders and decision-makers to build relationships and increase the scale and scope of cooperation between the United States and Australia in pursuit of shared economic prosperity and national security. Throughout the 2024 summit, delegates gained insight and analysis from an array of experts across policy, diplomacy, security, and industry to address global challenges and seize opportunities.
From 17 – 22 March, Dr Ian Langford, the Executive Director of Security & Defence PLuS, participated in the United States AmCham delegation. Initially, in Washington, DC, he engaged with high-level government officials and national security experts to discuss a range of security issues, with particular interest in the next phase of AUKUS. Subsequently, during the New York segment of the summit, business and political leaders gave their unique insight into the major forces at play in the economy and their intersections with national security.
Insights into Security & Defence PLuS
This year, for the first time, the summit extended to London, where Professor Wyn Bowen, Professor of Non-Proliferation and International Security at King’s College London, represented Security & Defence PLuS as a member of its Senior Leadership Team. On 25 March, following a British-American business, defence, and industry roundtable, the delegation visited King’s College London, Strand Campus, for a Security & Defence PLuS-hosted event. The delegation included 20 senior business leaders from a range of industries including aerospace, manufacturing, security, and construction, as well as UK government and Australian High Commission representatives.
Professor John Gearson, Head of the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, gave an opening welcome and introduction to the university before Professor Wyn Bowen provided an overview of Security & Defence PLuS. Additional insights on Security & Defence PLuS’s education offerings, research endeavours, and opportunities for collaboration were provided by Dr Huw Davies and Dr Maeve Ryan.
Navigating AUKUS: Panel Discussion
The focal point of the event was an AUKUS panel discussion chaired by Professor Wyn Bowen and featuring: Dr Christian Hirst, Minister-Counsellor Political and Economic at the Australian High Commission; Damian Parmenter CBE, Director General of AUKUS at the UK Ministry of Defence; and Dr Nicola Leveringhaus, Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. The discussion covered a range of issues, from the achievements of AUKUS to date and the challenges that the three allied countries need to address going forward, to how AUKUS is viewed in China and the wider region.