The conference brought together parliamentarians, experts, practitioners and representatives from relevant government institutions and the diplomatic corps, for open, policy-relevant exchanges and discussions on common security concerns, potential areas of future cooperation and effective strategies for dealing with the current international security environment. Hereby, it took a holistic approach to the current challenges facing like-minded nations in the European and Australian-Pacific regions.

Day one consisted of an open-to-the-public conference with panel discussions, covering topics such as Foreign and Security Policy Current Affairs, Security, Resilience and Preparedness – Current Challenges for A Modern Defence Force, Cybersecurity – Current Threats and Active Cyber Defence and Predictions for Future Security Developments.

During the discussions, which included lively Q&A sessions with the audience, it became apparent that there are many areas of potential future cooperation between our two regions, where we can learn from each other and work together more closely to develop solutions to common problems. This, for example, includes practical considerations such as identifying each other’s ‘blind spots’ regarding cybersecurity, a more effective coordination of the respective engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and the continued cooperation on issues pertaining to defence.

Day two was structured as a half-day Chatham House rule roundtable exchange, facilitating confidential and frank in-depth discussions of issues raised during the debates of the previous day.

Given the current geopolitical climate and recent developments, our panellists’ specific expertise and experience presented a valuable addition to current debates on international security.

We were especially delighted to welcome Member of the German Bundestag MdB Volkmar Klein, Deputy Chair of the German-Pacific Parliamentary Friendship Group, Prof Timo Kob, Head of the Federal Working Group ‚Cyber Security‘ at the CDU Economic Council and CEO at HiSolutions AG, and Dr Christian Forneck, Senior Foreign Policy Adviser CDU/ CSU, to Australia for the occasion, as well as members of the Australian Parliament and high-level experts.

We thank our partners and our magnificent expert speakers for sharing their insights and for their ongoing support and are already looking forward to next year’s conference.