(Stockholm, 14 September 2017)—Today, over 200 experts and practitioners are attending the second Stockholm Security Conference, on the theme ‘Secure Cities in an Insecure World’. Participants will discuss global security trends, threats and challenges; explore how these play out in cities; and then look towards solutions to address insecurity. The conference is hosted by SIPRI, in partnership with the City of Stockholm, the Swedish Parliament/Riksdag and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).
At the opening session, Urban Ahlin, Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, called for a better understanding of urban security challenges and violent threats worldwide. In what he referred to as ‘an age of urbanization’, he said that the world ‘must improve its efforts to deal with human and social challenges’.
Sweden’s State Secretary to the Minister of International Development Cooperation, Ulrika Modéer, continued this theme, calling for inclusive approaches, reinforced with transparency, accountability and political will the world over. ‘For sustainable solutions, the process towards peace, stability and development needs to be guided by inclusion.’
To this end, Modéer looked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for global cooperation. However, Dan Smith, Director of SIPRI, warned that the prospects of cooperation are weakening at a time of shifts in the balance of power globally.
The Mayor of Stockholm, Karin Wanngård, highlighted the need for a conference of this kind, ‘it will give us knowledge, cooperation and a network of people around the world striving for secure cities.’
The Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, presided over the opening remarks, highlighting several key challenges that cities are struggling with—including environmental protection and climate change; security, particularly in handling terrorism; and migration flows. ‘The security of cities is a microcosm of the security needed in this world.’
The Conference Coordinator, Ambassador Michael Sahlin, concluded the remarks, emphasising the ambition of the conference and praising the diversity of its representation. While he drew attention to many different kinds of threats, he also put a spotlight on solutions.
About SIPRI and the Stockholm Security Conference
SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources.
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