Israeli President Herzog, Palestinian Premier Shtayyeh to speak at Munich Security Conference

BERLIN 

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh will be among the key speakers at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) later this week, the organization's chairman announced on Monday.

Christoph Heusgen, former German ambassador and the MSC’s chairman, told reporters that this year’s conference will focus on the Middle East tensions, Gaza war, and other major global issues, with the attendance of over 50 world leaders, and more than 100 defense and foreign ministers.

The 60th Munich Security Conference will begin on Friday with the opening speech of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, he said, adding that US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be among the high-ranking guests.

Other speakers expected to address the conference include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Heusgen said that during the three-day conference, there will be around 60 panel discussions on international conflicts and other security issues, including NATO’s future, energy politics, climate crisis, food security, and artificial intelligence.

He underlined that the conference will also give the participants the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings and behind-doors talks on the current conflicts, and ongoing diplomatic efforts.