“When Prime Minister Carney speaks about diversifying our relationships, it’s not just about Europe.” Speaking with The Canadian Press, Vina Nadjibulla, Co-Founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, said Carney’s four-country summit tour is Canada’s chance to build on the agreements it has signed around the world, as the focus shifts to delivering on them. At APEC in Shenzhen, she expects the real value to come from smaller bilateral and small-group meetings, and she’ll be watching for economic announcements such as more Chinese vehicles entering Canada or new Chinese investment in energy and technology.

Vina Nadjibulla, Co-Founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, joined CBC Radio’s On The Coast to discuss Vice Premier He Lifeng’s meetings with Canadian ministers in Vancouver ahead of Prime Minister Carney’s visit to China. She called the talks a significant step in the government’s effort to recalibrate relations with Beijing and argued that Canada should expand energy and agricultural exports while avoiding new strategic dependencies. She proposed a “traffic light” approach that separates areas open for trade from sensitive sectors like AI and defence, with a middle zone requiring careful scrutiny. Vina also cautioned that principled pragmatism must not slip into quiet accommodation or self-censorship, and called on Canada to strengthen its economic security tools and coordinate more closely with Europe and Indo-Pacific partners.

With Canadian exports to China hitting record highs ahead of Prime Minister Carney’s trip to the APEC summit, CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla tells CTV News that growing trade comes with familiar risks, noting that Beijing has used its leverage over Canadian canola during past political disputes. She argues Canada should expand trade with China while building other markets, because “the goal should be to reduce strategic dependence, not simply shift it from one major power to another.”

“This is the oldest trick in the book.” Speaking with CTV News on November 9, 2026, Vina Nadjibulla, CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, discussed reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had an extramarital affair with a woman US officials reportedly believe was working for Chinese intelligence. Huang has admitted to the affair. China denies the allegations, and Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation. Nadjibulla says a honey trap is no surprise given how badly China wants advanced AI chips. What surprises her is New York Times reporting that the US government allegedly knew about this for a year, and that the White House dismissed it.

Vina Nadjibulla, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a foreign policy think tank, said Ottawa-Manila ties have expanded the furthest among Southeast Asian countries in recent years. “One of untold success stories of the Indo-Pacific strategy, in my view, is the deepening of our relationship with the Philippines and how much we’ve been able to do in the last few years.”

With China extending tariff relief on Canadian canola meal, peas, lobster and crab to 2028, CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla says clearing this irritant before Carney meets Xi at APEC frees both leaders to focus on Chinese investment in Canada, though the steel and aluminum trade-off will complicate Ottawa’s negotiations with Washington.

As Canada and China extend their canola and steel deal to 2028, CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla says the timing is significant: it lets Carney focus on Chinese investment at APEC while shaping Ottawa’s trade talks with Washington, since “decisions made in one relationship inevitably have implications for the other.”

Centre for Strategic Statecraft Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla speaks with The Globe and Mail about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new foreign policy of strategic autonomy. She explains why Canada’s sovereignty and economic security now come ahead of promoting human rights abroad.

As Canada releases its first national security strategy in over two decades, CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla tells The Walrus the strategy is a welcome effort and an important step toward a more integrated approach to protecting the country. She argues that by naming neither China nor Russia, it leaves an important gap in the threat assessment, and that it remains unclear who will oversee implementation. In her words, the strategy is “better understood as a statement of direction than a detailed roadmap.”

Centre for Strategic Statecraft Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla and Senior Fellow Stephanie Carvin join DW News to unpack the new EU–Canada partnership and what it means for reducing reliance on the U.S.

As Canada hosts the 21st Canada-EU summit in Montreal amid rising U.S. tariffs, CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla tells Al Jazeera the key challenge is how quickly political momentum can turn into concrete deals and economic results. She argues the deepening partnership isn’t an anti-U.S. coalition but a push to diversify Canada’s economic and defence ties. In her words, it’s “about Canada having more choices in an unpredictable world.”

Canada has been without an ambassador in Beijing since May, even as Ottawa works to rebuild ties with China. CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla calls the vacancy “surprising” and says it’s a concern with the APEC summit in China approaching and the Prime Minister set to be on the ground. She notes that a political appointee could signal the relationship matters to Carney, but says whoever is chosen will also need real China expertise to navigate its security, economic and political challenges.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Ankara and Istanbul, the first bilateral visit to Turkey by a Canadian prime minister, includes agreements on energy and expanded defence and security co-operation. Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, said Carney has been in high demand among world leaders since his Davos speech. She said his quick return to Turkey after the July NATO summit in Ankara “shows how much importance he gives to this relationship.”

In 2025, Canadian merchandise exports to India totalled CA$3.9 billion, and imports amounted to CA$9.7 billion. That data comes as the two countries had what Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, described as one of the “biggest weeks” in bilateral relations. “We’re seeing something remarkable,” Nadjibulla said, adding, “There’s a lot of momentum, quite a bit of political will.” She said that beyond CEPA, other conversations will progress in parallel, including on mobility.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be in Toronto and Ottawa on December 11 and 12. Canada’s trade negotiations with India will have been largely wrapped up by then, as per the co-founder of Centre for Strategic Statecraft Vina Nadjibulla.

CSS Co-founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla joined CBC to discuss the rapid evolution of Canada-India relations, India’s growing role in Canada’s trade diversification strategy, and the opportunities for Canadian businesses as the two countries work toward a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of Centre for Strategic Statecraft, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss Canada eyeing trade deal with India.

Foreign policy analyst Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of CSS, said the TCFA “needs to be signed.”  “As we recaliberate with China, we need to make sure that we don’t lose the momentum and the positive relationship that we have built with Taiwan as part of the Indo-Pacific strategy,” she said. 

Over the past eight months, the two sides have exchanged multiple visits at different levels. "I think we have seen remarkable positive momentum in Canada–India relations over the past year. What is particularly significant is that progress is now taking place across several tracks at the same time," said Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft

Vietnam and Canada are entering a broader phase of strategic cooperation, with their newly established Strategic Partnership opening opportunities beyond trade and people-to-people exchanges to supply chains, advanced technologies, energy security, defence and maritime security. The assessment was made by Vina Nadjibulla, Co-Founder and CEO of CSS, in an interview with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Canada following the State visit to Canada by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam.

A new U.S.-Denmark-Greenland defense agreement expands military access and strengthens Arctic security cooperation. The authors examine what the deal means for NATO, missile defense, Canada-U.S. relations, and the future of a more integrated North American Arctic security architecture.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has concluded a three-day state visit to Washington, marked by extensive pomp and pageantry. Global's Jazan Grewal is joined by Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO at Centre for Strategic Statecraft to discuss the major takeaways from the visit, including an extension of the trade truce.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has concluded a three-day visit to Washington, where he met with U.S. President Donald Trump amid ongoing tensions between the world’s two largest economies. CPAC anchor Marc-André Cossette is joined by Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, to discuss the U.S.-China relationship and what it means for Canada.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Canada, Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of CSS, said a notable aspect of the Vietnamese leader’s speech was the convergence between the country’s message and the positions Canada is promoting at the UN.

During Vietnamese President Tô Lâm's visit to Ottawa, Canada and Vietnam signed four MOUs and expanded their air transport agreement to allow direct flights. CSS Co-founder & CEO Vina Nadjibulla said the "significant" timing reflects both countries' push to diversify trade amid U.S. tariffs. She pointed to growing opportunities for Canadian LNG and agricultural exports, along with Vietnamese interest in partnering on technology, defence, and aerospace.

CSS Co-Founder and CEO Vina Nadjibulla spoke with CBC News host Marianne Dimain about President Donald Trump hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. Vina observed that the visit placed a strong emphasis on symbolism and ceremony, as Trump sought to highlight his relationship with Xi, while concrete deliverables from the summit were limited.

Co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft Vina Nadjibulla on what message Trump is trying to convey during his trip to China.

“We have had visits by the prime minister but never by the leader of Vietnam,” said Vina Nadjibulla, CSS Co-founder & CEO. Nadjibulla said while Vietnam is a communist country, it’s also trade-dependent — like Canada — and seeks to preserve the rules-based international order and economic diversification.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House with a military band and air force flyover, to mark Xi's first visit to Washington in over a decade. The two powers are setting out to find some common ground on the issues dividing them — and the outcome has implications for Canada, says Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft

The new strategic partnership signifies deeper co-operation on longer-term goals, said Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, "We're in a moment where the relationship can go to a new level, and there's definitely political desire on both sides."

U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting China's President Xi in Washington for a high stakes bilateral meeting today. Graham Richardson speaks with China expert Vina Nadjibulla, the co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft.

Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, said she isn’t surprised by the delay in releasing the plans given the current geopolitical shocks. “But having said that, I do believe that we need these documents to come out—or some versions of them to come out publicly—so that the Canadian public can clearly see what our priorities are, and also so that’s something that’s available to our allies,”

Rapprochement with China is also delicate, not least because Canadian intelligence services deem Beijing an “enduring threat” and one of the “main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage”. “There is a legitimate role for the Chinese capital in Canada,” says Vina Nadjibulla, an Asia policy expert and founder of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft. “But pragmatism cannot mean treating all capital as strategically neutral.”

Vina Nadjibulla joins the Geoeconomic Agenda podcast to discuss the evolving Canada–U.S. relationship, its implications for Canadian sovereignty and economic security, and Canada’s push to diversify its global partnerships.

"There's a lot of excitement about what associate membership means when it does not in fact exist … among people who would support closer ties to the EU," Aaron Burnett, Senior Fellow says. "This is also becoming a partisan issue in Canada, with the opposition now saying, 'well, please explain what powers you're willing to give up to Brussels and what you would get in return.'"

Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a new think tank, says it’s reasonable to have Chinese investors in the room for Canada’s investment summit. But she says national security concerns become especially relevant for investments touching quantum technology, advanced manufacturing, defence and other sensitive sectors in Canada’s pitch book. “The objective cannot simply be to attract as much capital as possible,” Ms. Nadjibulla said, adding that the government must ensure foreign investment does not compromise control over critical technologies, strategic assets or broader national security interests.

Drilling down: More than one-third of the projects (63 of 167) are related to minerals and metals. Fifty-two of those 63 “involve critical minerals or related processing and value chains,” writes Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a Canadian think tank. She said that’s “one of the striking things about the pitch book” because: “That matters for economic security, trade diversification and Canada’s ability to build more of the strategic supply chains of the future.”

Hundreds of investors overseeing nearly $120 trillion in assets will gather in Toronto for the Canada Investment Summit.

Across the ocean, India is hosting a crucial BRICS summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping in attendance, along with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and several other leaders. The bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi will be of particular significance, said the co-founder of a new foreign policy think tank, the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, Vina Nadjibulla.

“What’s significant is not that Canada is engaged in this dialogue — which it makes sense because we need diplomacy including with China to advance our interests — the significant part was there was no communication from the Canadian government and Canadians had to learn about this from China and from coverage that happened based on a statement from the Chinese government,” says Vina Nadjibulla, CEO at Centre for Strategic Statecraft.