Defence Minister concludes trip to Europe following the Munich Security Conference

February 19, 2017 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan today ended a four-day trip to Europe, where he participated in the NATO Defence Ministerial, the Counter-ISIS Coalition Defence Ministers’ Meeting and the Munich Security Conference.

From Brussels, Minister Sajjan travelled to Munich where he took part in the Munich Security Conference from February 17 to 18. During the Conference Minister Sajjan participated in a discussion panel on the future of NATO, and held bilateral meetings with Allies and partners.

The Munich Security Conference a major global forum for the discussion of defence and security policy, bringing together more than 450 senior decision-makers from around the world. Some of the themes covered at the 2017 Conference included the state of the European Union, the future of the West, challenges posed by Russia and other actors, transatlantic relations, countering radical terrorism, intelligence, the Arctic, as well as health and climate security. Canada was represented by Minister Sajjan, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.

During the Conference, Minister Sajjan discussed the future of NATO with an international panel including Michael Fallon, Secretary of Defence from the United Kingdom; Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Defence from France; Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands; and Fikri Isik, Minister of Defence from Turkey to discuss the future of NATO. The panel, entitled “’Obsolete’ or ‘Very Important’? NATO in 2017”, was moderated by Jim Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

While in Munich, Minister Sajjan met with several partners, allies, and organisations, including the United Nations Secretary General and representatives from Germany, Israel, Turkey, and the United States.