Programme.

13:30 – 14:30          Registration

14:30 – 14:35          Opening speech by Mrs. Vaira Paegle, Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Video link with Vilnius and Tallinn

14:35 – 16:15           PANEL DISCUSSION I: What Baltics Expect from NATO’s New Strategic Concept?

The last ten years have seen tremendous changes in the international security environment. The nature of threats has changed as well as the meaning of collective defence and deterrence in today’s environment. As NATO’s new Strategic Concept will guide the Alliance’s activities in the coming years, it is crucial that it accommodates security concerns of all the Allies. What are the concerns of the Baltic States? What should not NATO’s new Strategic Concept omit?

Keynote address: Dr. Karl A. Lamers. President of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA)

Mr. Toms Baumanis, Chairman of the Board, Latvian Transatlantic Organisation

Mr. Sven Mikser, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Parliament of Estonia

Mr. Petras Austrevicius, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of European Affairs of the Lithuanian Seimas

Moderator: Dr. Andres Kasekamp, Director, Estonian Foreign Policy Institute

Video link with Vilnius and Tallinn

16:15 – 16:45          Light dinner (snacks)

16:45 – 18:30         PANEL DISCUSSION II: Afghanistan – NATO’s solidarity test?

The Baltic States are among the highest contributors to the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan on a per capita basis, sending their troops without any caveats to places where they are most needed. Although the economies of the Baltic States have been hit hard by the global financial crisis, they continue to fulfill their commitments in Afghanistan. The reason for this is the need to uphold the principle of solidarity which is the bedrock of NATO. Experts warn that lack of solidarity among the Allies in Afghanistan might lead to NATO’s first operational failure. What should be done to prevent collective failure of will in the Alliance? How can we strengthen our unity and solidarity in order to achieve greater security and protection of our values?

Key-note address: Mr. Abdul Rahim Wardak, Minister of Defence of Afghanistan

Mr. Imants Lieģis, Minister of Defence of Latvia

Mr. Jaak Aaviksoo, Minister of Defence of Estonia

Ms. Rasa Juknevičienė, Minister of Defence of Lithuania

Prof. Dr. Christoph Zöpel, former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and Professor at the University of Dortmund

Amb. Manizha Bakhtari , Afghan Ambassador to the Nordic countries

Moderator: Dr. Atis Lejiņš, Honorary Director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs

Video link with Vilnius and Tallinn