Since the Cold War there has been a stereotype opinion about discussing global issues - it is often wrongly associated with traditional "centers" of international power.
Against this background the rapid growth of influence and authority of the "Global Security" Forum which is being held for the eighths time in Bratislava, Slovakia is noteworthy. This year participants from over 50 countries are taking part in the Forum. Challenges for global security and ways of reacting on those challenges of the members of the Euro-Atlantic community are on the agenda. From the political standpoint the Forum is a consolidated attempt of the countries - members of the Visegrád group - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic - to give their perspective on the existing issues of global and regional security. Ministers of foreign affairs of the Visegrád four countries are the key participants in the Forum.
Since the Cold War there has been a stereotype opinion about discussing global issues - it is often wrongly associated with traditional "centers" of international power.
Against this background the rapid growth of influence and authority of the "Global Security" Forum (GLOBSEC 2013) which is being held for the eighths time in Bratislava, Slovakia is noteworthy. This year participants from over 50 countries are taking part in the Forum. Challenges for global security and ways of reacting on those challenges of the members of the Euro-Atlantic community are on the agenda. From the political standpoint the Forum is a consolidated attempt of the countries - members of the Visegrád group - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic - to give their perspective on the existing issues of global and regional security. Ministers of foreign affairs of the Visegrád four countries are the key participants in the Forum.
Acting and retired statesmen, diplomats, experts, businessmen, representatives of the non-profit organizations are taking part in panel discussions and round tables. The Forum is organized by the Slovak Atlantic commission in cooperation with a number of major partners.
Focused attention that the Forum attracts is one of the signs of the shifts in global and regional architecture. New major discussion platforms are gaining ground in the Central and Eastern Europe. Visegrád countries demonstrate political will to form a consolidated viewpoint on the main challenges in contemporary international relations.
Representatives of nearly all countries-partners of the Group on the international arena are getting involved in elaboration and discussion of this position, which means that additional incentives to look for peaceful, consensus solutions to the existing problems are being created.
European energy security, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Iranian nuclear problem, European ABM system, future EU architecture, issues of non-proliferation, situation in the Middle East, situation in Afghanistan, conflict in Mali, cyber-security and a whole range of other issues were on this year's agenda. It is evident that Russia is an important partner in finding solutions to almost all of the above-mentioned problems.
Ivan Timofeev, program director of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), represented the Council on the Forum. The very idea of the Council's participation in the Forum appeared in the context of the meeting between the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak with the RIAC members. The meeting was held in Moscow in December 2012 and stirred considerable interest both form the Russian and the Slovak sides. Participation of the RIAC in the "Global Security" Forum is one of the steps in developing cooperation, an initial impetus to it having been given by Miroslav Lajcak's visit to the RIAC.
Ivan Timofeev was kindly invited to take part in the Forum by Robert Vass, who is the Secretary General of the Slovak Atlantic commission and the founder of the "Global Security" Forum.
