Guterres among High Dignitaries Attending the Munich Conference

United Nations, Feb 16 (Prensa Latina) UN Secretary General António Guterres participates today in the opening of the Munich Security Conference, an event with the participation of more than 21 high dignitaries.

In the 54th edition of the event there will be present heads of State and Government, foreign ministers and defense ministers of more than 80 countries, as confirmed by its organizers.

The fight against terrorism, the serious consequences of climate change and the growing conflicts in the world are some of the central themes of the conference.

The forum, which runs until Sunday, will have representatives of the great powers and the majority of regional actors involved in the current hotbeds of confrontation in the world. The situation in Syria, the future of the European Union and its relations with Russia and the United States, conflicts in the Middle East, cybersecurity, nuclear stress on the Korean peninsula and the worsening of relations between the Gulf countries are also included in the agenda.

Among the participants of the summit are the US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis; Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov; the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu; the British Prime Minister, Theresa May; and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

In addition, managers of global companies, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations will be present.

According to the president of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, the world is in the middle of an arms race that does not benefit anyone.

In his view, international relations are currently in a bad situation due to the collapse of the international liberal order, the American withdrawal, the European weakness, the increase in warmongering rhetoric, and the rise of mistrust among global actors.