Five Months to Go: Munich Security Conference 2025

• The MSC 2025 will once again offer a unique opportunity for high-level debates on the world’s most pressing security challenges.
• The road to MSC 2025 is packed with high-profile events and activities, such as our Munich Leaders Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro or our activities at COP 29 in Baku.
• The MSC will also launch a Middle East Consultation Group to prepare the ground for high-level debates and meetings on the current situation in the region.

The 61^st edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) will take place from February 14 to 16, 2025, at its traditional venue, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich.

Since its foundation by Ewald von Kleist more than six decades ago, the MSC has been assembling senior decision-makers and thought-leaders from around the world for discussions on the most pressing international security concerns. Over the past years, the Munich Security Conference has constantly evolved, has become more diverse, introduced a variety of new discussion and event formats, and broadened its thematic horizons to take account of the changing security landscape. Its core mission, however, has not changed: To provide a platform for consequential debates and, as its original motto suggests, to build peace through dialogue.

Today, the MSC is the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy. In addition to its annual flagship conference, the MSC regularly convenes high-profile events around the world and has a wide portfolio of publications, including our annual Munich Security Report published shortly before the conference.

Preparations for the MSC 2025 are well underway. Aligning with our 2024 activities and publications, crucial topics addressed at the MSC 2025 will include Europe's role in security and defense, new visions of the global order, the security implications of climate change, and much more.

The MSC prides itself on its fruitful relationship with the many institutions and organisations hosting side events at the annual conference. These events complement and enrich the main program and have become an integral part of our conferences. As every year, we will be working hard to curate the optimal mix of formats, themes, and participants for the MSC 2025. Should you be interested in hosting an event and contributing to our mission, please follow the instructions on our website to submit your suggestion. The selection process is now open and will run until October 27, 2024.

The press accreditation process for the MSC 2025 will start in early December and will run until mid-January. The MSC will again provide a well-equipped Press Center near the conference venue and will offer a rich program of press conferences, background briefings, and interview opportunities. If you have any questions or if you are interested in an interview with our leadership or one of our experts, please contact the MSC Press Team.

Leading up to the MSC 2025, we will be hosting and launching a number of events and activities to prepare the ground for the main conference, including:

Our “Zeitenwende on tour” will continue to engage audiences in numerous townhall events across Germany, with the next stop planned for Hofheim am Taunus on September 18.

Against the backdrop of the UN Summit of the Future on September 23, the MSC will release a new publication on the global debate about double standards — about accusations that states, Western ones in particular, all too frequently deviate from their ostensible foreign policy principles or follow them inconsistently. The publication will be available on our website from September 23 onwards and will feature new survey data from nine populous countries of the so-called Global South, namely Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, South Africa, and Türkiye, which sheds light on people'sviews on Western and other countries’ rule compliance and on the merit of international principles and rules.

In October, the MSC will host its traditional Cyber Security Roundtable in Brussels, bringing together leading transatlantic decision-makers, business leaders, and cybersecurity experts to discuss emerging threats and collaborative solutions in the digital domain.

In November, the Munich Leaders Meeting will take place in Rio de Janeiro at the margins of the G20 summit. This meeting will provide a unique platform for high-level discussions on global security issues. We will also be present at COP29 in Baku, focusing on the intersection of climate change and security.

We will also be intensifying the work of our Middle East Consultation Group, an innovative Track II initiative aimed at addressing the complex dynamics of the region and providing ongoing diplomatic efforts with concrete input and suggestions. The group will visit both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as the State of Qatar before the end of the year, hoping to travel to Israel in early January in an effort to prepare the ground for meaningful discussions and meetings at the MSC 2025.

Our Munich Strategy Retreat in Elmau traditionally takes place in early December. This time we will be focusing on the future of transatlantic relations in light of the US election results.

For updates and insights, follow @MunSecConf on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and subscribe to our newsletter. To join the debates online, use the hashtag #MSC2025 and tag us @MunSecConf.