The annual Warsaw Security Forum is currently underway in the Polish capital on September 29-30, bringing together over 2,500 participants from 80 countries. This significant international think tank event draws high-ranking politicians, former presidents, NATO representatives, analysts from think tanks and international organizations, defense industry figures, and members of the press.
All forum topics revolve around transatlantic cooperation, with a particular focus on the security of Central and Eastern Europe. A central theme across all discussions is how to unite forces of good against forces of evil.
Warsaw Security Forum: Key Discussions on European Security
Participants are discussing: the West’s resolve and increasing stakes in the fight against Russia; European strategies for Ukraine; the resilience of industrial and financial sectors transitioning to a wartime economy; the shared security outlook for Europe and the Middle East (from the perspective of how much worse things could get); and a stress test for NATO (what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger).
The organizers conveyed their message to participants: “Divided — we lose.”
High-Level Representation
Speakers and participants at the forum include: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath, Deputy Director-General of DEFIS Gerald Ruiters, foreign and defense ministers from European nations, U.S. President’s Special Representative for Ukraine General Keith Kellogg, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
France, as the partner country for the 2025 World Forum for Stability, is represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot and a large delegation of over 150 government, parliamentary, and industry representatives.
Democratic Resistance
This year’s forum features representatives of the democratic resistance from Russia and Belarus, including Yulia Navalnaya, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Also speaking on discussion panels are Oleksandra Matviichuk (2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, which documents Russian war crimes) and Nate Vance (a U.S. Marine and frontline volunteer in Ukraine, who is also the cousin of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance).
