Major international security conference coming to Halifax

    HALIFAX, July 31 /CNW/ - A major international conference on
transatlantic security will be held in Halifax November 20-22, 2009. The
conference will attract approximately 300 top leaders from government,
industry, and academia, including members of the US Congress, State Governors,
and senior representatives from the European Union and NATO.
    The conference is being organized by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of
the United States, a non-partisan American public policy and grant-making
institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding
between North America and Europe. The Halifax International Security Forum
will be the GMF's first-ever public event in Canada.
    "This organization does incredibly important work in international
cooperation and security, so it is a significant milestone for Atlantic Canada
to host this event," said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National
Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway. "The forum will allow for the
sharing of new ideas, while promoting awareness of our region to leaders from
both sides of the Atlantic."
    The Halifax International Security Forum's inaugural meeting will help
build a closer relationship between Canada, the United States, and Europe,
centred on a new and forward-looking global security agenda. Discussions will
focus on a set of core issues central to this goal, including the rule of law
in the 21st century, energy security, the current economic crisis and its
impact on global security, proliferation of nuclear weapons, and other core
and emerging issues.

    The GMF was founded in 1972 though a gift from Germany as a permanent
memorial to post-World War II Marshall Plan assistance to help rebuild that
nation's economy. The organization is based in Washington, DC, with offices in
Ankara (Turkey), Belgrade (Serbia), Berlin (Germany), Bratislava (Slovakia),
Brussels (Belgium), Bucharest (Romania), and Paris (France).

    FOR BROADCAST USE:

    The Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway,
Peter MacKay, announced there will be a major international security
conference to take place in Halifax from November 20-22, 2009. The Halifax
International Security Forum will give international leaders a chance to view
security issues "through a Canadian lens", while promoting greater
international awareness of Atlantic Canada.
    The Halifax International Security Forum will be organized by the German
Marshall Fund of the United States, a non-partisan American public policy
institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation between North America
and Europe. This will be the organization's first-ever public event in Canada.

For further information: Cindy McInnes, Office of the Honourable Peter
G. MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway,
[phone]; Will Bohlen, Director of Communications, German Marshall Fund
of the United States, [phone]