Institute notes: National Office and branch activities.

Roundtables were held with Ward P. Elcock (Canadian Deputy Minister, Department of Defence) on 2 August, James Clad (US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense) on 31 August, and Professor Martin Krause (University of Buenos Aires) on 26 September. A graduate of Victoria University of Wellington and former Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomat (in the early 1970s), Clad is responsible for South Asia and the South Pacific. At another roundtable on 28 September Professor Sebastiao C. Velasco e' Cruz, the head of the Political Science Department at the University of Campinas in Brazil, spoke on 'Brazil and its Emerging Place in the World"

On 8 October Karen Koning AbuZayd, the Commissioner General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), addressed a meeting at Victoria University of Wellington. This meeting was supported by the United Nations Association and NZAID.

A roundtable was held with the New Zealand ambassadors from Ankara, Cairo, Pretoria, Riyadh and Tehran on 10 October to discuss New Zealand's interests in the Middle East and Africa. Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Alan Williams provided an introductory overview.

On 16 October Meg Munn MP, the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, spoke on 'Britain and International Development: the Pacific and Beyond' at a joint NZIIA--Pacific Cooperation Foundation meeting at Victoria University of Wellington.

A seminar on 'Energy Security: The Foreign Policy Implications' was held on 21 November. Speakers included Michael Richardson (Senior Research Fellow, Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore), Peter Neilson (CEO, Business Council for Sustainable Development), Dr Ron Smith (University of Waikato), Dr David Natusch (Chair, APEC Energy Business Network) and Mike Underhill (CEO, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority).

Auckland

A seminar on Middle East and African issues with the New Zealand ambassadors to Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia and the high commissioner to South Africa was held on 8 October. On 24 October, with the northern region branch of the UN Association, the branch organised a seminar on 'Securing our Survival: The Case for a Nuclear Weapons Convention'. The keynote speakers were Hon Dr Nick Smith MP (Chair of the New Zealand Section of the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament), Matt Robson (former Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control...