Economic security has emerged as a defining strategic challenge, with trade, energy, technology, and critical minerals increasingly deployed as instruments of statecraft. Responding to this new era will require sustained collaboration among like-minded countries.

The Economic Security Forum 2026 brings together senior leaders from Australia, the United States, Japan, Korea, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Southeast Asia to address the most pressing economic security challenges. Discussions will focus on coordinating industrial policy and tariffs, securing critical minerals, navigating the energy transition and strategic technologies.

Confirmed speakers
Jenny Wilkinson PSM

Jenny Wilkinson PSM

Secretary to the Australian Treasury
Daleep Singh

Daleep Singh

Former US Deputy National Security Advisor (International Economy), National Security Council
Vina Nadjibulla

Vina Nadjibulla

Co-Founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft
Dr Brad Jones

Dr Brad Jones

Assistant Governor (Financial System), Reserve Bank of Australia and Deputy Chair of the Payments System Board
Patricia Holmes

Patricia Holmes

First Assistant Secretary, Trade Law and Economic Security Division and Chief Trade Law Officer at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Noriyuki Kuroda

Noriyuki Kuroda

Director General for Trade and Economic Security, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan
Jonathan Black

Jonathan Black

Former UK Prime Minister’s Sherpa for the G7 and G20 and Deputy National Security Adviser from 2019 to 2025
Abigail Hunter

Abigail Hunter

Abigail Hunter is Executive Director of the Center for Critical Minerals Strategy at Securing America’s Future Energy
Professor Marco Buti

Professor Marco Buti

Former Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission
Wendy Black

Wendy Black

Executive Director Policy, Business Council of Australia
Dr Takahiro Tsuchiya

Dr Takahiro Tsuchiya

Professor at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Japan and Visiting Senior Researcher, The University of Tokyo
Tracey Winters

Tracey Winters

Chief Strategy Officer, Santos
Dr Philip Luck

Dr Philip Luck

Director, Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Septian Hario Seto

Septian Hario Seto

Executive Secretary and Member of National Economic Council, Republic of Indonesia
Belinda Dennett

Belinda Dennett

Chief Executive Officer of Data Centres Australia
Dr Jayant Menon

Dr Jayant Menon

Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Dr John Kunkel, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the United States Studies Centre

Dr John Kunkel

Non-Resident Senior FellowUnited States Studies Centre
Dr Merriden Varrall

Dr Merriden Varrall

Founder and CEO of vantage geopol.
Dr Michael Jonathan Green, chief executive officer at the United States Studies Centre

Dr Michael J. Green

Chief Executive OfficerUnited States Studies Centre
helen-mitchell.jpg

Dr Helen Mitchell

Senior Executive, Australian Government
Hayley Channer, Director of the Economic Security Program with the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

Hayley Channer

Director, Economic SecurityUnited States Studies Centre
Olivia Shen

Olivia Shen

Director, Strategic TechnologiesUnited States Studies Centre
Dr Naoise McDonagh

Dr Naoise McDonagh

Non-Resident Fellow, Economic SecurityUnited States Studies Centre
Dr Darren Lim

Dr Darren Lim

Senior Lecturer in the School of Politics and International RelationsAustralian National University
Nicci Smith

Nicci Smith

Foreign Affairs and Defence Correspondent, Australian Financial Review
Ryan Heath

Ryan Heath

Launch Editor, POLITICO Australia
Adam Davids

Adam Davids

CEO of CareerTrackers
David Fickling

David Fickling

Bloomberg Opinion Columnist

Register your interest

To express your interest in attending this event, please email sahara.hoff@sydney.edu.au

Program

Monday, 9 November 2026
Forum: 8.15am-5.00pm AEDT
Networking reception: 5.00pm-6.30pm AEDT

Acknowledgement of Country 

1. Keynote address: Jenny Wilkinson PSM

2. Geopolitical shocks and trade-offs: How did governments and business balance conflicting economic and security imperatives in 2026? 

A global energy shock, soaring interest rates, and the continued breakdown of the global trading system have placed pressure on supply chains and balance sheets everywhere. A return to the status quo on any of these issues does not look likely. How have different countries, regions and the private sector responded to the year’s geopolitical shocks? Is there a coherent strategy, or are we just muddling through? Where is it possible (and worthwhile) to coordinate our responses?

Scene setter | “The systematic weaponisation of trade and its impact on liberal democracies”:

  • Mr Daleep Singh (virtual), former US Deputy National Security Advisor (International Economy), National Security Council, White House and Vice Chair and Chief Global Economist, PGIM

Speakers:

  • Ms Patricia Holmes, Chief Trade Law Officer and First Assistant Secretary, DFAT
  • Mr Noriyuki Kuroda, Director General for Trade and Economic Security, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan
  • Professor Marco Buti, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Chair at the European University Institute 
  • Ms Wendy Black, Executive Director of Policy, Business Council of Australia

Moderator:

3. The energy transition: Has the Iran war accelerated or derailed the clean energy transition?

With one-fifth of global oil and natural gas supply blockaded in the Strait of Hormuz, the world turned to coal as a cheap and accessible fuel to fill the gap, leading to record global consumption. At the same time, a boom in power-hungry data centres is putting strain on transitioning energy systems. This panel will discuss what the closure of the Strait of Hormuz means for energy markets and the energy transition in the long term.

Speakers:

Moderator:

  • Ms Nicci Smith, Foreign Affairs and Defence Correspondent, Australian Financial Review

4. In conversation: How are governments equipping themselves for the new world of weaponised interdependence?

Two-thirds of global trade is now subject to restriction — be it tariffs, export controls,or quotas. The impacts of this are starting to bleed into everyday government decision-making. How are governments retooling to navigate this new world of weaponised interdependence? What new capabilities, rules, or alliances are needed? What does it mean to have ‘trusted’ trade partners?

Speakers:

  • Mr Jonathan Black, CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former Deputy National Security Advisor for the United Kingdom
  • Dr Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System), Reserve Bank of Australia

Moderator:

5. The great debates: Weighing the arguments for and against three major economic security related questions around AI, strategic groupings and tariffs

Today’s world is messy. Join us as some of our leading experts take you through the pros and cons of three major debates taking place in Australia, our region and around the world. Does it matter where our AI models come from? Are middle powers at the table or on the menu? Can tariffs actually work?

Debate 1 | “Countries should adopt open-source AI models, regardless of their country of origin, to facilitate faster economic growth”

  • Ms Olivia Shen, Director, Strategic Technologies, United States Studies Centre

Debate 2 | “Mark Carney is right: Middle Powers need to bypass the hegemons, form their own coalitions, and jointly respond to economic coercion and trade disruption” 

  • Dr Naoise McDonagh, Senior Lecturer in Geopolitics and International Business at the School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University

Debate 3 | “Tariff policy, when executed effectively, is the best way to deal with China’s EV and other clean energy overcapacity issues”

  • Dr Philip Luck, Director, Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Followed by 30-minute Q&A with the panelists.

Moderator:

6. Supply chain chokepoints: How mineral monopolies and export controls are impacting allied supply chains and industrial bases

Yesterday’s supply chain efficiencies are today’s vulnerabilities. Governments and companies are being forced to reassess heir supply chain dependencies, ownership structures and shipping routes. Are we any closer to breaking China’s grip on critical minerals? What do China’s tighter rare earth export controls and the United States' on-again, off-again semiconductor controls mean for allied defence supply chains? And how can allied nations attract private capital to derisk their supply chains?

Speakers:

Moderator:

7. What does all this mean and what next? Views from the United States, Australia, and Southeast Asia

You’ve heard from the experts, now let’s consolidate their insights. Focusing on three Indo-Pacific pivot points – the United States, Australia and Southeast Asia, this session both reflects on discussions from throughout the day and offers new expert perspectives you may not have heard. What are the United States, Australia and countries in Southeast Asia doing well in responding to economic security challenges? What more needs to be done bilaterally or multilaterally? Are interests too diverse to achieve consensus or will security and economic imperatives force compromises that lead to cooperation? 

Speakers:

  • Dr Philip Luck, Director, Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business, Center for Strategic and International Studie
  • Dr Darren Lim, Senior Lecturer, Australian National University
  • Dr Jayant Menon, Former Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist at Asian Development Bank and Visiting Senior Fellow, Institute for Southeast Asian Studies

Moderator:

To express your interest in attending this event, please email sahara.hoff@sydney.edu.au