Syria tops agenda at Munich Security Conference

British Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi are among the key speakers at the conference.

A police car stands in front of the hotel Bayerischer Hof, the location for the 54th Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, southern Germany, on February 15, 2018.
AFP

A police car stands in front of the hotel Bayerischer Hof, the location for the 54th Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, southern Germany, on February 15, 2018.

The conflict in Syria, Europe's refugee crisis and the European Union's (EU) role in the future will be major topics at the 54th Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday. 

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will be among key speakers at the three-day conference; he is expected to address senior global figures on Syria, Turkey’s counterterrorism operation and  other developments in the region. 

The Turkish premier is also scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts on Friday and Saturday, on the sidelines of the conference.

TRT World's Sarah Morice reports.

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Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi, British Prime Minister Theresa May are among other leaders expected to attend the conference. 

Foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are also expected to participate in the conference, according to organisers. 

The US administration will be represented by Secretary of Defense General James Mattis and the US National Security Adviser, Herbert Raymond McMaster. 

Numerous conflicts in the Middle East, growing tensions between the Gulf states and political developments in the Africa's Sahel region are also expected to be on the agenda. 

Around 600 senior figures would also discuss the future of the liberal international order, the EU’s role as a global actor, its relations with Russia and the US.

Since 1963, the Munich Security Conference has been a key annual gathering for world leaders, political and military decision makers to discuss global and regional security challenges.

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