December 4, 2019

NATO Engages 2019 in London: NATO Needs Frank Conversations

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO Engages 2019 in London. Photo: MSC/Michael Kuhlmann
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO Engages 2019 in London. Photo: MSC/Michael Kuhlmann

“NATO’s enduring core tasks are collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security. This is a set menu, not a’la carte,” ICDS Director Sven Sakkov commented on the current health and future of the Alliance at ‘NATO Engages: Innovating the Alliance,’ held in NATO’s inaugural home of London, and ahead of the NATO Leaders Meeting on December 2019.

NATO Engages 2019 brought together some 1600 policy makers, officials from think tanks and universities, and members of the public – over 50% of whom were under 30 – at Westminster Central Hall.

The event examined NATO’s enduring future, facilitating broader conversation and examining how the Alliance deals with geopolitical uncertainty, changing threats and new opportunities.

Jüri Luik, Minister of Defence of Estonia participated in the discussion on the security on NATO’s frontlines. “If we are consistent in our messages and actions the threat from Russia is low, but if we are weak, divided or wobbly the threat is very real,” he said.

NATO Engages 2019 was organised by the Atlantic Council, GLOBSEC, the Royal United Services Institute, King’s College London, and the Munich Security Conference, in partnership with NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division and the UK Government. ICDS was proud to contribute as an institutional partner to the conference.

Click here to watch the conference again, read the overview and view photos.

 

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