Assadakah Roma News - The 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC) will be held this year from February 18 to 20, 2022, at its usual venue in Munich, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. The MSC 2022 will remain true to its traditional formats but will welcome fewer guests and media representatives as well as smaller delegations to ensure the health and safety of its participants and the Munich public.
While the pandemic prevented us from holding a traditional conference last year, we did organize a series of high-profile virtual and TV formats on the "Road to Munich" to keep the security policy dialogue among international decision-makers alive and to lay the groundwork for in-person debates in Munich in February 2022. Therefore, we are particularly pleased to announce that we are planning to hold a physical Munich Security Conference in 2022, which will take place at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, from February 18 to 20, 2022.
The MSC 2022 will be different from the conferences of previous years. It will not only be held in a reduced format with fewer guests, fewer media representatives, and smaller delegations travelling to Munich, but we will also introduce a number of innovative participatory formats to complement our traditional activities. Our focus on high-level participation, maximum interaction and a carefully curated mix of public and off-the-record formats will remain.
We are well aware of the exceptional circumstances and the additional requirements due to the ongoing pandemic. The health of all stakeholders involved in the main conference as well as the Munich public is of paramount importance to us. Together with our partners and in close consultation with the relevant authorities, we are working on a comprehensive health and safety concept containing strict hygiene measures.
Given the plethora of current crises and the significant risk of further escalation, the MSC has decided to hold an in-person event in mid-February to provide key decision-makers with an overdue opportunity to meet and search for common approaches and peaceful solutions.
The Munich Security Conference 2022 will be different from recent editions. In order to adhere to current COVID-19 regulations, the size and footprint of the conference has been reduced massively, with numbers of participants, events, locations, and delegation sizes cut by two thirds.
In one important way, however, the MSC 2022 will be just like its predecessors: It will be attended by many of the world’s key decision-makers, including more than 30 Heads of State and Government, 100 ministers and the heads of many of the most important international organisations such as the UN, NATO, and the EU. The conference will be opened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The German government delegation will be led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The United States will again be represented by a particularly prominent delegation encompassing both the administration and congress.
Even though coping with the current pandemic situation must be at the forefront of all considerations, the need to return to regular meetings and dialogue in the field of foreign and security policy is clear for all to see. The risk of escalation and irreparable damage to the rules-based international order is real and the number of interconnecting crises growing. The Munich Security Conference 2022 is thus coming at an important time.
Taking place in its traditional venue, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, the MSC will provide a platform to address this tide of mutually reinforcing crises. Designed as a working conference, the MSC will be host to a large number of official bilateral and multilateral meetings in addition to its own formats. Amongst the topics to be discussed in the main program are global challenges such as the pandemic and climate crises, the protection of democracy, the regulation of technology as well as regional challenges such as revitalizing the transatlantic alliance, the growing tensions in Eastern Europe, and the situation in some of the world’s most dire conflict zones. The last day of the conference is dedicated to the European Union and how it can (and must) contribute to addressing all these challenges.
The MSC 2022 will assemble many of the world’s key decisionmakers. In addition to the official delegations, the MSC has also invited a small number of key figures from civil society, such as the heads of important non-governmental organisations and think tanks as well as thought leaders from academia, the media, and business to add their perspectives to the discussions.
The MSC will take place under pandemic conditions. In order to keep all guests and partners as well as the public as safe as possible, the MSC has worked with all relevant authorities to devise a detailed health and safety concept that exceeds all legal requirements. Access to the event is based on comprehensive vaccination requirements, daily testing, and a strict mask mandate. The MSC is cooperating with EcoCare as exclusive health & safety partner to implement these measures.