WASHINGTON (KINY) – Days after the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan $95 billion national security supplement, senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is leading a bipartisan delegation to this weekend's Munich Security Conference.
“One of our greatest strengths against our adversaries China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea is the vast network of allies that this administration and U.S. senators have spent decades building,” Sullivan said. . “Given the increasingly dangerous world we live in, we need to deepen these alliances and strengthen U.S. credibility. The Munich Security Conference is a good opportunity to do that. This conference is also an opportunity to convey a message from the American people: We expect our NATO allies to meet their defense spending obligations.”
The trip is being dubbed the “Cordell McCain” after the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who served as the longtime leader of the U.S. Congressional delegation to the conference with Sen. Whitehouse.
The Munich Security Conference is widely considered the main transatlantic forum for international security policy, providing a forum for diplomatic initiatives and ideas to collaboratively address the world's most pressing security concerns. To do. The conference will include approximately 500 high-level decision makers and leaders from around the world, including heads of state, parliamentarians, ministers, leaders of international and non-governmental organizations, as well as business, media, research and organizational leaders. will gather. and civil society. The conference will be held Friday through Sunday.
The White House and Sullivan will lead a delegation in bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders, including heads of state and foreign ministers. The White House will also participate in meetings on rebuilding Ukraine, combating kleptocracy and international corruption, defending democracy from authoritarianism, and the national security threat posed by climate change.
Sen. Sullivan will address the conference and headline several events, including a discussion on “Defending the Free World from Extremism and Authoritarianism” hosted by the Christian Social Union. He will also participate in a discussion on geopolitical issues hosted by the International Republican Association and the International Democratic Alliance, both of which are chaired by Senator Sullivan. Also included is an Arctic Roundtable where senators highlight Alaska's central position in the defense and development of the Arctic region, and a forum with senators on China challenges hosted by MERICS, Europe's leading China research center. It is scheduled.
On Friday night, the White House will deliver the keynote address at the John McCain Essay Award Ceremony. Each year, the Munich Security Council awards the John McCain Essay Award to recognize outstanding scholarly work in the field of transatlantic relations. Keynote speakers in past years include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence, and Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). I've been there.
The White House will also host a panel discussion titled “Spotlight: Corruption,” which will be livestreamed as part of the main program starting Friday at 3:30 p.m. CET (9:30 a.m. ET). I plan to participate in several public events.
