Called the "Davos of Defense," the Munich Security Conference is underway beginning Friday (Feb. 16), with an estimated 60 world leaders and over 85 other government officials flying to the capital of the German state of Bavaria for a three-day summit to discuss current and future global security issues.
Among those attending include US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinklen, British Foreign Minister Lord David Cameron, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh were also expected to speak at the conference to discuss the situation in their respective countries.
Munich Locked Down
As a result of the high-stakes conference held at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, roads have been sealed off and parts of the local airspace closed as organizers prepared for increased security risks and a potential public backlash to the event, CNBC reported.
At least 20 protests were expected in downtown Munich, with more likely to occur over the weekend. One of the first organized to highlight alleged human rights abuses by Iran.
It came as the Munich Security Index 2024, released earlier this week, pointed to a disconnect between public sentiment and political leadership, with voters more likely to be concerned with non-traditional security risks such as mass migration and climate change than traditional hard security threats.
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