At a well-attended programme on 22 July 2026, in the Hunter Council Chamber of Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington, Te Pūtahi Rangahau o Inia ki Aotearoa | The New Zealand India Research Institute was officially relaunched with a public lecture.

At the beginning, Emeritus Professor Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Founder and Interim Director, informed the audience of the history and past achievements of the NZIRI, which was originally established in 2012. The audience was then addressed with messages of support by HE Ms Muanpuii Saiawi, High Commissioner of India, Dr John Subritzky, Acting Deputy Secretary, Asia and Americas Group, MFAT, Professor Averil Coxhead, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, VUW, and Professor Sally McArthur, Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, VUW.

The main part of the evening’s programme was a public lecture by Professor Ian Hall of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. He spoke on: ‘Where is the Pacific in India’s Indo-Pacific’. The lecture was followed by a lively Q/A session and a reception.

You can watch a recording of the lecture here.