Welcome to the Halifax International Security Forum!

On behalf of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Government of Canada, we are pleased to welcome you to Nova Scotia for the inaugural Halifax International Security Forum. We are proud to bring you the first major global security conference on the North American continent and to host you in Halifax, the world’s second largest natural harbor.

Halifax Forum will provide a platform for leading policymakers, opinion leaders, scholars, and business representatives from North America, Europe, and beyond to discuss the most pressing security issues facing the international community. Together, we will discuss topics such as protection of ports, arctic security, laws of war, nuclear proliferation, and the future of NATO as well as country spotlights on Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea.

We encourage frank and open dialogue. By intention, Halifax Forum sessions are designed to foster discussion among all of you, the leading experts and practitioners on international security.

Halifax Forum is on the web at www.halifaxforum.org so you and your colleagues can join us virtually. We will provide live video and audio streaming of the on-the-record events as well as transcripts and videos after the conference.

We are confident that, with your active participation, Halifax Forum will be a success. Welcome, and thank you for coming.

	Craig Kennedy President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States		Peter MacKay Minister of National Defence & Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, Canada