National Office and branch activities.

• Position: INSTITUTE NOTES

The passing of Kelvin Ratnam, a longstanding member of the NZIIA, on 31 July is noted with sadness. He served for many years on the Wellington branch's committee, holding a number of roles, including events co-ordinator from 2004 to 2008 and secretary until 2012. He stepped down in April 2019 after fifteen years of service. NZIIA President Sir Anand Satyanand, along with other former NZIIA colleagues, attended his funeral, at which former branch chair Peter Nichols recalled first meeting Kelvin two decades ago: 'I was captivated by his delightful engaging personality, his profound interest in international affairs, but above all his sense of humour, or at least his kind personality meant he always generously laughed at things I thought were funny.'

In September Raylene Liufalani replaced James Waite as MFAT's representative on the NZIIA Board.

Wellington

On 6 October a roundtable discussion was held with HE Muktesh K. Pardeshi, India's high commissioner to New Zealand. The following meetings were also held:

17 Aug HE Peter Kell (New Zealand's ambassador to the Philippines), 'The Aotearoa View from Manila'.

16 Sep Tobias Haque (World Bank senior country economist for Afghanistan), 'Afghanistan: An Economics and Development Perspective' (Zoom).

4 Oct Charlotte Bellis (senior producer with the Al Jazeera Media Network), 'Afghanistan: A Journalist's On the Ground Perspective' (Zoom).

27 Oct Hon Phil Twyford (minister for disarmament and arms control), 'Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty --What Next for the Nuclear "Grand Bargain"'.

Auckland

After a decade as Auckland branch chair...