Significance of Munich Security Conference That Jaishankar Is Attending

It may be a private affair, but this year’s Munich Security Conference assumes additional significance because of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has entered the third year, writes ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan.

New Delhi:External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is now in Germany to attend the 60th edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) being held from February 16 to 18. After reaching Munich, Jaishankar held a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Friday during which the two leaders held talks on bilateral relations, global and regional issues.

“Started my engagements at #MunichSecurityConference by meeting UK Foreign Secretary @David_Cameron,” Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter). “A good discussion on our bilateral cooperation as well as global and regional issues.” Jaishankar also met with his counterparts from Peru and Bulgaria, Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea and Mariya Gabriel respectively during the day.

Though there has been no official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs regarding Jaishankar’s participation in MSC 2024 till the filing of this report, his presence reflects the importance India is attaching to this annual event. The conference is organised privately and therefore not an official government event. It is used exclusively for discussion and authorisation for binding intergovernmental decisions does not exist. Furthermore, there is--contrary to usual conventions --no common final communique.

What is the MSC that is hosted in the German city of Munich every year?

Dubbed the ‘Davos of Defence’, the MSC is an annual international forum focused on discussing and addressing key security and foreign policy issues. It serves as a platform for political leaders, policymakers, military officials, experts and representatives from civil society to engage in dialogue and debate on global security challenges.

The conference was first held in 1963 and has since become one of the most significant events in the field of international security. It takes place in Munich, Germany, and typically attracts high-profile participants, including heads of state, defence ministers, foreign ministers, and other influential figures.

The MSC provides an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas, share perspectives, and collaborate on finding solutions to pressing global security issues such as terrorism, conflict resolution, arms control, cyber threats, and geopolitical tensions. The discussions at the Munich Security Conference contribute to shaping policies and fostering cooperation among nations to enhance global security and stability.

The conference evolved from the Internationale Wehrkundebegegnung/Munchner Wehrkundetagung, which was founded in 1963 by Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, who was part of the Stauffenberg circle. Claus von Stauffenberg was the German army officer, who was behind the failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair in 1944. Kleist-Schmenzin advocated the prevention of military conflicts such as the Second World War in the future and brought together leaders and experts in security policy for this reason.

According to the MSC website, when the Cold War came to an end, both Kleist-Schmenzin, who had founded the conference, and his successor as chairman, Horst Teltschik, built on the unique character of this trans-Atlantic meeting, but they also decided to invite participants from countries that had not been part of the Western world before.

“Over the years, as the number and variety of important players in international security increased, the circle of conference participants continued to grow wider,” the website posting reads. “At the same time, the core of the conference will always be trans-Atlantic. Today, we welcome high-ranking participants from key rising powers, such as China, Brazil, and India. In addition, in recent years, both the Arab uprisings and the debate about Iran’s nuclear ambitions brought leaders from the Middle East to Munich, sparking both controversial arguments and the opportunity for further dialogue on and off the conference stage.”

So, what is on the agenda of MSC 2024?

This year’s conference is being held amidst the over four-month-long conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas that has claimed the lives of more than 28,000 Palestinians and nearly 1,500 Israelis. The conference also comes ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both conflicts, characterised by their protracted nature, have raised concerns about potential regional repercussions.

According to a report by the Reuters news agency, British Foreign Secretary Cameron has said that officials from European countries supporting the occupied Palestinian territories and key Arab and Gulf states would convene on the sidelines of the Munich event to initiate discussions on the future of Israel and the Palestinian people post a potential ceasefire.

According to the Munich Security Report 2024 released ahead of this year’s conference, “unfortunately, this year’s report reflects a downward trend in world politics, marked by an increase in geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty”.

“According to the new edition of the Munich Security Index, a key element of the report since 2021, large segments of the population in the G7 countries believe their countries will be less secure and wealthy in 10 years,” MSC chairman Christoph Heusgen writes in the foreword to the report.

“It’s no wonder then that many governments are rethinking their international engagement, paying closer attention to the vulnerabilities that come with interdependence and who benefit more from cooperation. But, while ‘de-risking’ in various ways is a necessary response to a changing and more dangerous geopolitical environment, a stronger focus on the relative gains of cooperation risks undermining the absolute benefits of cooperation. We must avoid ending up in ever more lose-lose situations that come with the fragmenting global order.”

The report highlights the international security problems arising out of the situations in the Indo-Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Sahel in Africa. Apart from India’s Jaishankar, among others attending this year’s conference are US Vice-President Kamala Harris, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

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