November 9, 2021

ABCD 2021: What Threats and Challenges Will Shape Defence in NATO’s North-Eastern Flank in 2030?

ABCD 2021

On 10 November, at the high-level Annual Baltic Conference on Defence (ABCD 2021) in Tallinn, participants will discuss the new NATO Strategic Concept and the threats and challenges to North-East Europe in a volatile security environment.

Minister of Defence of Estonia Kalle Laanet, Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Minister for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom James Heappey, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning Patrick Turner and Commander Multinational Corps Northeast Lieutenant General Sławomir Wojciechowski will speak at the conference.

ABCD 2021 will be opened by H.E. Alar Karis, President of Estonia. In the evening prior to the conference, representatives from NATO, Allies and partners, as well as defence and security experts will be welcomed by Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia.

“The world has changed greatly over the last decade, unfortunately not in the direction of more stability, but towards a volatile security environment with new threats and challenges. Emerging and disruptive technologies, military conflicts and civil crises, the rise of China, escalated great power competition – all this affects NATO. At the same time, Russia remains a threat that must not be underestimated. NATO must continue to focus on credible deterrence and defence,” says Martin Hurt, director of the ABCD 2021 at the International Centre for Defence and Security.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABCD 2021 “On the Doorstep of a New NATO Strategic Concept: What Threats and Challenges Will Shape Defence in North-East Europe in 2030?” will take place in a limited format. Only invited guests who are fully vaccinated or have been ill with COVID-19 in the past 180 days will be able to attend the event.

Find out more about ABCD 2021 and view the agenda at  https://abcd.icds.ee/

The ABCD 2021 is organised by the International Centre for Defence and Security and the Ministry of Defence of Estonia in cooperation with the Konrad Adenuer Foundation. MBDA, EuroSpike, Nammo, BAE Systems and Milworks support the conference.

Contact for media: Triin Oppi, Head of Communications at the International Centre for Defence and Security, [email protected] or +372 502 5120.

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