CIAC2026 Agenda

This opening session sets the stage for CIAC2026 with a broad look at the major economic forces shaping growth trajectories in Asia and the implications for Canada’s engagement in the region. This session frames how shifting supply chains, digital transformations, sustainability imperatives, and the demand for secure supply across the conference’s three sectors of focus - food security, energy security, and infrastructure - are redefining opportunities for collaboration.

Food security is a major global policy challenge and a priority across Asia that economies and organizations address in relation to local contexts and capabilities. It is simultaneously an issue of domestic concern and geopolitical imperative. How are governments and organizations in Asia and Canada navigating this terrain? And how can Canadian agriculture, agri-food, fertilizer and agri-technologies contribute to food security – and foreign policy – priorities in Asia?

This high-profile plenary explores the tariff turmoil, geopolitical competition, and broad-ranging uncertainty that are reshaping global trade while offering insights into impacts and responses across the Indo-Pacific. In a region where shifting supply chains are a reality, how can governments, firms, and institutions (including Canadian) pursue their interests while making more significant contributions to regional economic security?