(Photo: MSC)

The Munich Security Conference is neither able to set policies and strategies nor solve all global security problems, but it’s an extremely important forum for leaders, international entities, and organizations to hold high-level dialogues, enhance understanding and trust, discuss measures to reduce confrontation, and deal with global challenges and risks.

Held annually since 1963, this year the conference takes place in the context of various security challenges worldwide – the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the tense US-China competition.

Key agendas

Prior to the conference, Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, President of MSC 59, said the conference will concentrate on two questions: What is the world like a year after Russia launched a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine? Are we living in a world of outbreaks of violence?

German broadcaster DW and other international sources say that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be a top concern at MSC, because the conference is mandated to help resolve conflicts. Just a few days after MSC 58 closed, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine on a historic scale. There are still visible divisions within the West on how to approach the conflict, including sanctions against Russia and aid to Ukraine.

The future of NATO will be another key topic. The delegates will discuss NATO's ability to maintain unity in the long term, the increasing division between East and West, and NATO’s expansion to include Sweden and Finland. Ukraine's application to join NATO is also likely to be discussed, but no  decision is expected  any time soon.

Other topics on the agenda will be global security, the defense budget, relations with China, energy, climate, technology, and cybersecurity.

Challenges and solutions

A report by the MSC 59 Organizing Committee, published before the event, highlighted the dangers of growing divisions among institutions and called for structuring a new security vision internationally. President Heusgen said the immediate challenge facing Europe is to find ways to strengthen dialogue. He said in the MSC 59 report that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has a direct impact on dialogues between parties and the international rule-based order.

Experts say MSC 59 is clearly aware of the challenges and the need to restructure international security to match the new situation. DW said the world leaders may disagree on many issues, but most of them will agree that the world is entering an important decade of restructuring the world order.