With attendance of over 60 Heads of State and Governments from around the globe, dozens of Presidents and Prime Ministers, the 62nd Munich Security Conference was held last week. Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna attended several panel discussions and had a range of bilateral meetings.
Hundreds of participants of the Munich Security Conference gathered in the Bayerischer Hof hotel in the centre of the Bavarian metropolis. Besides many addresses, speeches and top-level discussions, the agenda included a multitude of bilateral meetings. The conference was opened by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Keynote speakers included French President Emmanuel Macron, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In his address, President Zelenskyy also thanked the Czech Republic for assistance that has been delivered through the Czech Ammunition Initiative.
The global leaders discussed subjects such as European security and defence, future of transatlantic relations, revival of multilateralism, competing visions of global order, regional conflicts and security impacts of technology development.
This was the first attendance by a Czech Defence Minister in a long time. Minister Zůna says the conference’s importance is obvious: “This a unique and extraordinary event both from the perspective of Europe, of the Euro-Atlantic area, given the participation of the most prominent leaders, and indeed from the overall geopolitical perspective.” He regards his participation essential particularly due to the direction of defence and security in the Euro-Atlantic and tackling security challenges that the Czech Republic, Europe and NATO will face in the years ahead. “I personally highly value and benefit from this conference in terms of information, networking and bilateral meetings I had. They provide opportunities to discuss practical matters or verbally verify plans and intentions we have for the near term with other NATO nations and NATO partners,” Minister Zůna emphasised.
Minister Zůna had numerous bilateral meetings during the conference, including with his Mauritanian counterpart, Minister Hanana Ould Sidi. The Ministers discussed the possibilities of future cooperation arising from the memorandum of understanding the Czech MoD and Mauritanian MoD signed in 2025. Mauritania is an important partner for the EU and NATO in Sahel, and the Czech Ministry of Defence with the Czech Armed Forces support the development of the Mauritanian Armed Forces.
On the first day, Minister Jaromír Zůna shortly met with Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Alexus G. Grynkewich. Minister Zůna said to the newly appointed SACEUR that he was looking forward to future cooperation and meeting him in Prague. With General Sunreviin Ganbyamba, Chief of General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces, Minister Zůna discussed the quality of bilateral relations.
A debate organised by the Globsec Forum concluded day one of the conference. Defence Ministers, high-ranking military officials plus NATO, EU and defence industry representatives discussed the most effective ways to cooperate on strengthening Europe’s readiness to defend NATO’s eastern flank. Czech President Petr Pavel opened the meeting and Minister Zůna met, for instance, with his Singaporean counterpart Minister Chan Chun Sing and European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius.
On the second day of the Munich Security Conference, Minister Zůna attended the meeting between President Petr Pavel and Rheinmetall CEO, Armin Papperger. Diskutovali o the role of the European industry in building the defence posture and opportunities for Czech industries. Rheinmetall is the contractor for the deliveries of the Leopard 2A4 tanks for the Czech Armed Forces and is the maintenance contractor with the VOP CZ state enterprise.
In conclusion of the conference, Minister Zůna attended a meeting hosted by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius for his counterparts. In follow-up, the Ministers discussed the entertained during the conference. Minister Zůna met with Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatii and Swiss Minister Martin Pfister.
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