Estonian president to attend Munich Security Conference

TALLINN - The Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid will be attending the annual Munich Security Conference from Friday to Sunday, where she will be taking part in a discussion on the future of Ukraine and speaking at the Young Leaders forum about technological diplomacy.

On Friday afternoon, Kaljulaid will be taking part in a public debate entitled NATO@70, looking back on the past seven decades of the alliance and discussing how the world has adapted to the changed security situation with NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller. On Saturday, the Estonian head of state will be the main speaker in the annual Ukrainian discussion in Munich, which this year will focus on the presidential elections being held in March, the security situation in the country and the need to press ahead with reforms and reinforce the rule of law in the state. Also taking part in the discussion will be presidential candidates Yulia Tymoshenko and Anatoliy Hrytsenko.

The president will be the guest of honor at the now traditional Munich Young Leaders forum on Sunday, where she will be speaking about the influence of technology on foreign policy. Others who have spoken at the forum in the past include former American diplomat, politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger, German politician and former minister of finance Wolfgang Schauble and former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Several bilateral meetings are also planned for the three days, as are numerous interviews with foreign and national media.

The Munich Security Conference represents the most important discourse on security and foreign policy between Europe and North America, which this year will be focusing on transatlantic cooperation and confidence in the European Union. Other issues, which will be debated, are the future of arms control, defense policy cooperation and the impact of climate change and technological development on domestic policy. The conference will be attended by dozens of heads of state and government, the heads of major companies, representatives of think tanks and scientists from the field.