IDOS @ Munich Security Conference

At the MSC, IDOS co-hosted an official side event and was represented in a number of formal events and informal meetings by Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Dr Axel Berger.

With its official motto “peace through dialogue” and Chair Ambassador Christoph Heusgen proclaiming “Europe’s Hour”, this year’s Munich Security Conference put forth emphatic calls in times of continued war, geopolitical crises, and heightened uncertainties. Taking place three years after the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine, during an insecure ceasefire in Gaza and violent conflict in Congo and Sudan, there was a strong sense of a shifting and shaking multipolar world at the MSC, with a new US government that has made it clear in their first weeks in office that they do not respect a rule-based international order. All the more significant for the aspiration to shape a cooporative multipolar world were the increased involvement of actors from the Global South at this year’s MSC, the new alliance for an impactful United Nations Development System initiated by Minister Schulze, and the emphasis on an expanded and integrated understanding of security which run through the official programme and the more than 200 official side events.

 

IDOS, which was represented at the MSC in a number of formal events and informal meetings by Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Dr Axel Berger, co-hosted an official side event on “Securing Trade and Development: The Case for an Economic Corridor Between India, the Gulf and Europe” together with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India. Launched during the G20 Summit in New Delhi (September 2023), the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) provides an opportunity for deeper economic integration and enhanced connectivity across three key regions: Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe. Despite this potential, progress on the IMEC has been challenged by shifting geopolitical dynamics, particularly in light of violent conflicts and security concerns in the Middle East. In a breakfast panel discussion under the Chatham House Rule moderated by Axel Berger, high-level participants gave brief inputs and then interactively discussed with other participants the potential of corridors, what makes this corridor special and how the (IMEC) could and should be revitalised.

Following the conference, Prof. Hornidge summarised her observations made in a LinkedIn-Post.