OTTAWA – The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, participated in the fifth annual Bled Strategic Forum, a gathering of leading decision-makers from private, public and academic spheres from around the world, held in Bled, Slovenia.
This year's Bled Forum, "The Global Outlook for the Next Decade," tackles some of the major challenges of the decade: the energy transition, the water challenge, re-vitalising the economy and the transformative power of the Internet.
Speaking at a panel discussion entitled, "The European Union (EU) in a Multi-Polar World," Minister MacKay said that by working together, Canada, the United States and the European Union can "produce a synergy that can make a difference at home and around the world."
"A strong and vibrant EU, in the political, economic and the security and defence areas, is certainly in the interests of Canada and the wider transatlantic community," and is critical to the future of NATO, he said.
"The world is faced with new security challenges that we would have given little thought to ten years ago. We cannot forget the critical role that NATO has played and will continue to play in the security, defence and political affairs of this transatlantic community."
Before the Forum, Minister MacKay also travelled to Belgrade, Serbia, to meet with Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Defence Minister Dragan Šutanovac. While in Bled, Minister MacKay met with Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Žbogar and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandroković; he then stopped in London to meet with British Secretary of State for Defence, Dr. Liam Fox.
Over 400 guests from a range of countries attended this year's Bled Strategic Forum, with more than a hundred domestic and foreign journalists covering the event.
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