On the Doorstep of a New NATO Strategic Concept: What Threats and Challenges Will Shape Defence in North-East Europe in 2030?

The Annual Baltic Conference on Defence (ABCD), 10 November 2021 in Tallinn, Estonia

Venue: Nordic Hotel Forum (Viru väljak 3, Tallinn)

 

Tuesday 9 November

 

19:00-21:00 Welcoming dinner (at the Nordic Hotel Forum)

Address by Kaja KALLAS, Prime Minister of Estonia

 

Wednesday 10 November

 

09:00-10:15 Keynote Session: NATO’s new Strategic Concept

Welcoming speech by H.E. Alar KARIS, President of Estonia

Keynote remarks by:

Kalle LAANET, Minister of Defence of Estonia

Nikolaos PANAGIOTOPOULOS, Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic

James HEAPPEY, Minister for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom

Followed by a discussion moderated by Kyllike SILLASTE-ELLING, Director General of the Department for NATO and Transatlantic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia

 

10:15-10:45 Coffee break

 

10:45-12:15 Session One: What to expect from and how to cope with Russia and China?

How will Russia and China influence our security environment in the coming decade? What are their regional and global political ambitions? How will their foreign and security policies be affected by their internal circumstances? How should NATO position itself politically in relation to these two countries? Based on Russia and China’s military posture and their interventions in different conflicts, what should the Western countries conclude in terms of the potential for future conflict and their military capability needs?

Margiris ABUKEVIČIUS, Vice-minister of National Defence of Lithuania

Benedetta BERTI, Head of Policy Planning in the Office of the Secretary General at NATO

Andrei KOLESNIKOV, Senior Fellow and Chair of the Programme at the Carnegie Moscow Center

Una Aleksandra BĒRZIŅA-ČERENKOVA, Head of the China Studies Centre at Riga Stradins University and Head of the Asia Programme at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs

Moderator: Michael ROULAND, Director of Research and Deputy Director of the Russia Strategic Initiative, U.S. European Command

 

12:15-12:45 Coffee break

 

12:45-14:15 Session Two: NATO’s deterrence and defence in north-east Europe

How complete is NATO’s deterrence posture in the region, and what more needs to be done, both politically and militarily? What guidance should the new Strategic Concept give on the posture for the next decade? What concrete steps should the Baltic states and their Allies take to enhance security in the region? How will the importance and character of nuclear deterrence develop? How should the West harness innovation to counter Russia and China?

Patrick TURNER, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning

Sławomir WOJCIECHOWSKI, Lieutenant General, Commander Multinational Corps Northeast

Guillaume OLLAGNIER, Head of the Department for Europe, North America and Multilateral Affairs at the Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) at the Ministry for the Armed Forces of France

Jüri LUIK, Permanent Representative of Estonia to NATO

Moderator: Kristina PRIŠMANTAITĖ, Director of the Centre for Defence Analysis at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania

 

14:15-14:25 Concluding remarks

Kusti SALM, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Estonia

 

14:25-15:30 Lunch