More than 12,000 Kilometers Away: MSC Hosts Panel on Global Security Cooperation in Latin America

It was the first-ever MSC event in Latin America, more than 12,000km away from the MSC headquarters in Munich. In cooperation with the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), the panel discussion brought together a range of high-level speakers: CARI President Francisco de Santibañes, the moderator, spoke with Luis Petri (Minister of Defense of the Argentine Republic), General Laura Richardson (US SOUTHCOM Commander), and Benedikt Franke (CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Munich Security Conference).

How can we effectively overcome past dichotomies and integrate the Western Hemisphere into global security debates? This was the question which led through the evening. In fact, regional priorities for security challenges have for decades often been unaligned within the Western Hemisphere. Fault lines in the global contest of different visions of the rules-based international order appear increasingly visible, consequently diminishing the prospects of addressing global security challenges in truly global ways. Yet, it was outlined that more recent strategic convergences may have opened windows of opportunity for deeper cooperation between countries in Latin America, North America, and Europe.

The panel discussants did not run short of questions and talked inter alia about the following: What are the most pressing strategic priorities in the face of multiple and simultaneous crises in Latin America and the Caribbean? What is needed to enhance security cooperation between the “Global South” and the “Global North”? What lessons can the transatlantic community learn from Latin America and the Caribbean in managing domestic and transnational security threats and in balancing national sovereignty with international cooperation, especially in times of internal political instability? And how can the region’s defense strategies help shape a more inclusive global security framework?

Hence, a core motive of the discussion was bringing the “Global South” and “Global North” closer together in the context of global security cooperation – while also addressing the defense strategies of countries within the region which traditionally focus on domestic security issues.

The Munich Security Conference will build on this event in Mendoza, Argentina, by hosting further high-level events in Latin America and the Caribbean. This means doubling down on our outreach to the region with our Munich Leaders Meeting at the side-lines of the forthcoming G20-Summit in Rio de Janeiro.