Over 500 international decision-makers expected in Munich

The Munich Security Conference has been a key meeting point for the security community for decades and serves as a barometer for the state of the international order. Over 500 decision-makers from the worlds of politics, business, academia and civil society will hold discussions this weekend about current crises and the future of the international order.

The key question at this year’s Munich Security Conference is the range of responses of the Western community of states and the international order shaped by it to current crises and security policy challenges. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open the conference with a speech. French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are also expected to attend, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Japan, China and India. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will speak at the conference this Friday.

Forum for diplomacy beyond the spotlight

Alongside discussions on the major lines of international policy, the Munich Security Conference has traditionally offered participants an opportunity to hold discussions and meetings behind the scenes in order to discuss concrete challenges and to seek solutions to current conflicts.

Foreign Minister Maas will use the 56th Munich Security Conference to meet his counterparts from the US, Russia and Turkey, alongside numerous other interlocutors. The conflicts in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine will be an important focus at these talks.