ASPI USA was delighted to host Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency the Hon Dr Kevin Rudd AC, along with former US Ambassador to Australia John Berry and representatives from Australian and American industry, for a roundtable discussion at South by Southwest in Austin on 12 March.

The conversation, hosted in partnership with the American Australian Association, focused on mobilising private sector capital for AUKUS and national security more broadly.

In additional programming, ASPI USA Analyst Bronte Munro and Director Adam Leslie hosted a panel on Doing Business in the National Security Domain with Cia Kouparitsas of With You With Me; Heather Richman of the AUKUS Defense Investor Network and Naweed Tahmas of Aeon Industries.

The event solicited a productive dialogue on the tech industry as the new defense industrial base, AUKUS and skilled workforce development and investment in dual-use technology.