On April 20-21, 2017 the 4th South Caucasus Security Forum was held at the hotel “Holiday Inn”, Tbilisi. The Forum was organized by the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation) and Strategic Policy Institute (Stratpol, Slovakia).
Conducted since 2013, the Forum became one of the top international security platforms in the South Caucasus, bringing together experts from the region and wider Europe. The South Caucasus Security Forum has proved to have a serious impact on the level of security debates in the region. It is a main forum for decision-makers, academics, think-tank representatives, experts and media representatives to discuss the most challenging issues of the broader region.
On the first day Dr. Ekaterine Metreveli, the President of the Rondeli Foundation and Richard Turcsanyi, the Director of Stratpol, Slovakia welcomed the audience. The keynote opening remarks were delivered by H.E. Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the Prime Minister of Georgia who spoke of Georgia’s security issues, the challenges that the region faces and emphasized the importance of peaceful conflict resolution.
The second day of the conference was opened by Mikheil Janelidze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, he discussed Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration, threats from Russia and security of Georgia and the Black Sea Region as a whole.
During the two-day forum, consisting of eight sessions, the speakers discussed the following topics: Post-Obama era- game changer for wider European Security?; Security in the Black Sea region; South Caucasus security – old conflicts, new dynamics; Aspiration to the EU integration; Russia and the threats Georgian faces; Information Security and more.
The strategic supporter of the 4th South Caucasus Security Forum was the International Visegrad Fund (IVF). Other conference partners included the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian PRISM, Regional Studies Centre (Armenia) and Open Ukraine Foundation.
The video about the forum is available on the following link.
