Politics
22:39, 18-Feb-2018
Munich Security Conference ends with 'a lot more work ahead'
["china"]
Share
Copied
The 54th Munich Security Conference (MSC) closed on Sunday, leaving "a lot more work ahead" in addressing global security issues.
Under the motto of "To the Brink, and back?", over 500 participants including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Fu Ying, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, US Defense Secretary James Mattis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, British Prime Minister Theresa May and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, attended the three-day major annual gathering for international security issues.
"When I opened the conference on Friday, I hoped we could delete the question mark from the motto," MSC Chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said in the closing remarks, "but now I am not fully sure we can do that."
Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2018. /VCG Photo
Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2018. /VCG Photo
During the three-day event, an array of global security issues, such as conflicts in the Middle East, nuclear issue of Korean Peninsula, trans-Atlantic relations, European Union's efforts for deeper defense cooperation, were discussed.
Wonderful visions, ideas, resolutions and initiatives were shared, such as China's One Belt One Road Initiative and a new security treaty between the European Union and Britain after Brexit.
Ischinger continued, after this year's conference, we have known "what the new challenges are and what we want to avoid," but concrete steps to implement all the visions and ideas should be done after the conference.
"There is a lot more work ahead," Ischinger added.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), is displayed on giant screens as he gives a speech to open the 54th Munich Security Conference on February 16, 2018 in Munich, southern Germany. /VCG Photo
Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), is displayed on giant screens as he gives a speech to open the 54th Munich Security Conference on February 16, 2018 in Munich, southern Germany. /VCG Photo
Founded in 1963, the annual MSC has become a forum dedicated to promoting peaceful conflict resolution and international cooperation and dialogue.
The 55th MSC will be held on Feb. 15-17, 2019.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency