Institute notes: National Office and branch activities.

• Position: Conference notes

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The 60th anniversary of New Zealand-Japan relations was marked in Tokyo on 1 August by a Track 2 dialogue between the NZIIA (led by the director) and its Japanese counterpart.

On 16 August Trade Minister Tim Groser opened a series of talks on improving international governance (jointly run by the NZIIA and the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies) with a presentation on the multilateral economic agenda. Two weeks later Dr Alan Bollard, retiring governor of the Reserve Bank, spoke on the international financial sector. On 6 September MFAT's Amanda Ellis spoke on governance and development followed a week later by Dr Adrian Macey (IGPS) on global governance of the environment. Dr Graham Hassall of VUW's School of Government rounded up the presentations in September with a talk on governance of the Pacific.

On 5 September the NZIIA co-hosted with the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre a major symposium to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of New Zealand-China diplomatic relations. Held in the Legislative Council Chamber in the old Parliament Buildings, it featured a diverse group of twenty lead speakers and panelists. They came from academia in China and New Zealand, media in New Zealand and elsewhere, research institutes, private enterprise and the political community. A reception hosted by John Hayes ME the chair of Parliament's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee, followed the symposium. (A report on proceedings and the prime minister's opening address are to be found elsewhere in this issue.) Preparations are in hand for a reciprocal event hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to be held in Beijing towards the end of this year.

Auckland

The following meetings were held:

6 Aug Dr Ashok Sharma (Department of...