Qatar to host Global Security Forum from Monday

Qatar will host the fifth Global Security Forum from Monday under the central theme of ‘Reshaping the Global Order: Conflict, Crises and Co-operation.’
The invite-only event, held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, will run until March 15. It will see heads of government and ministerial leaders join security agency chiefs, senior government policy markets, prominent experts, academics, journalists and private sector leaders from across the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Indian Ocean and Far East, address pressing issues facing global security today.
The forum will be opened by HE Sheikh Mohamed, who is expected to reflect on new world security priorities from a Qatari perspective, according to a press statement from the organisers.
The main business agenda begins with a fire-side chat with Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, who is expected to provide valuable insights into his country’s experiences in post-conflict reconciliation and development, including fostering dynamic socio-economic progress, and on regional and international security dynamics that shape the nation’s diplomacy, development and defence priorities.
Meanwhile, with heightened US-China relations in the global spotlight, Teo Chee Hean, Singapore’s Senior Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security, will reflect on the changing dynamics on the global stage from the Lion City’s perspective, including the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on China and the Asia-Pacific region, the strategic competition between the US and China, and the importance of international co-operation and co-ordination.
The forum will also include fireside chats and expert panel sessions. It will witness fire-side chats with Musa Faki Mohamed, Chairman of the African Union Commission; HE Hassan al-Thawadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy; Dr Joshua Geltzer, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Adviser, US National Security Council; Timmy T Davis, US Ambassador to Qatar; Larissa Knapp, Executive Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Ambassador Roger Carstens, the US’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs; Robert C O’Brien, Co-Founder & Chairman, American Global Strategies and former US National Security Adviser; Christopher Miller, author and former US Acting Secretary of Defence; Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan, Chairman, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore and former Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Singapore; and Major-General Michel Friedling (Retd), former Commander of the French Joint Space Command, France.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict will be a forum highlight, with a dedicated session reflecting on the current state and future prospects following the one-year mark of the war. The session will see Ambassador Nathan Sales, TSC Senior Fellow; Dr Kacper Rekawke, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Oslo Centre for Research on Extremism; and Dr Biljana Lilly, from Warsaw Security, explore the conflict’s traditional military dimensions as well as the role and impact of private military companies.
And, as the world looks back on the 20th year of the post-Iraq conflict, there will be a dedicated session, organised in partnership with the New American Foundation, focusing on the lessons learned from the conflict’s impacts and implications for contemporary global security, regional dynamics, emerging threats, and US influence. Importantly, the event will focus on the issue of mediation and conflict resolution amid today’s security and diplomatic challenges with framing remarks from HE Dr Mohamed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs.
Later, a panel including Aaron Nuutinen, of the US State Department; Djibril Bassole, Burkina Faso’s former Foreign Minister; and Ambassador Dr Monica Juma, National Security Adviser to the President of Kenya, will examine lessons learned and good practices in mitigating conflicts, including through mediation, conflict prevention mechanisms, and defense and diplomatic engagement, with reflections on diverse regional dynamics, including in Africa and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, as many Western nations battle with the energy fallout of recent geopolitical shifts, the forum will examine the means of fostering energy security amidst shifting geopolitical dynamics in a session that will reflect on the global energy crisis and the implications of regional dynamics and the ongoing war in Ukraine for Europe and the Middle East. The session, which will be moderated by Paul Wallace, Middle East Energy and Commodities, Bloomberg, will unearth the views of Frank Fannon, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources; Dr Carolyn Kissane, Assistant Dean, New York University Centre for Global Affairs; Scott Modell, CEO, Rapidan Energy Group; and Dr Damilola Olawuyi, Professor and Unesco Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, Hamad Bin Khalifa University's College of Law.
The Future of Afghanistan is also high on the forum’s agenda with a dedicated session reflecting on the country’s future prospects, particularly in relation to security, governance and human rights. Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion Editor, will moderate Hekmat Karzai, Chairman, Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies and Afghanistan’s Former Deputy Foreign Minister; Fawzia Koofi, Visiting Fellow, Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Afghan Parliament’s former Second Deputy Speaker; and Saad Mohseni, Co-Founder & Chairman, MOBY Media Group, through the complex pathways to peace.
The forum will also investigate global perspectives on extremism, the roles of cities in fostering resilience and preventing violent extremism and the spectrum of conflict in Africa. There will also be a special panel examining the practice of hostage-taking by state and non-state actors with introductory reflections from Ambassador Roger Carstens, the US's Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs while Christopher O’Leary, the FBI’s Director of Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, will number among the panelists.
Technology’s emerging influence will come under the forum spotlight in a dedicated session organised in partnership with the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate and involving Dina Hussein, Meta’s (Facebook) Global Head of Policy Development and Expert Partnerships; and Amy Larsen, Director of Strategy and Business Management, Microsoft. The session will see international experts scrutinise terrorism and technology in a post-covid world the potential human rights implications of use and abuse of emerging tech, misinformation/ dis-information, conspiracy theories; online abuse; and its intersections with gender; and consider future challenges for policymakers, practitioners, and communities. There will also be dedicated panels exploring countering extremism, hate and disinformation online and international violent far-right movements and the counter measures of states and global organisations.
Forum findings will be compiled into a key-insights report to provide an overview and strategic assessment of the security matters and policy recommendations to meet the range of 2023 security challenges.
The Global Security Forum 2023, hosted by the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies (QIASS), is being held in co-operation with several high-level agencies and institutions, including the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), New America Foundation, Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Defense One, the Centre on National Security at Fordham Law, Strong Cities Network and the Airey Neave Trust.
Virtual participation to the fifth edition will be possible through the Forum’s official website, globalsecurityforum.com