HELSINKI SECURITY FORUM 2023

29.9.–1.10.2023

The war in Ukraine has changed Europe forever.

In 2023, war continues to ravage Ukraine, with repercussions for global security. Europe has been moved to a new era of radical uncertainty, one in which we need to address the question of how Europe should be defended and secured. Thinking about future security architectures, needed military capabilities, and cooperation to address geopolitical changes has never been more important.

Helsinki Security Forum brings together leaders and foreign policy experts to discuss the global implications of current international security issues, resilience, and defense capabilities from the perspective of Northern Europe.

The theme of HSF 2023 is Deter, Defend and Secure – Europe in the Era of Radical Uncertainty.

Programme - HSF 2023

FRIDAY 29.9.2023

Time

Session

13:30-14:30

15:30-16:30

16:30-17:30

Pre-event: BRUSSELS SPROUTS AT HELSINKI SECURITY FORUM:
THE FUTURE OF FINNISH FOREIGN POLICY – A DISCUSSION WITH PRESIDENTAL CANDIDATES

Speakers:
Mika Aaltola
Pekka Haavisto
Alexander Stubb

Moderators: Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director, CNAS; and
Jim Townsend, Adjunct Senior Fellow, CNAS

HSF 2023 OPENING SESSION

Welcoming remarks:
Samu Paukkunen, Acting Director, FIIA
Kai Sauer, Ambassador; Chair of the Board, FIIA

Keynote address:
Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland
Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Interview on stage:
Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia
Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Moderator: Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Leading researcher, FIIA

SESSION I: DETER, DEFEND AND SECURE – EUROPE IN THE ERA OF RADICAL UNCERTAINTY

Keynote address:
Antti Häkkänen, Minister of Defence of Finland

Speakers:
Heather Conley, President, German Marshall Fund
Sten Rynning, Director of the Danish Institute of Advanced Study; Professor of War Studies, University of Southern Denmark

Moderator: Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Leading researcher, FIIA

Live-streamed

SATURDAY 30.9.2023

Time

Session

8:30-9:45

9:45-10:15

10:30-11:45

16:50-18:00

21:45-23:00

SESSION II: RAPID TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIETAL SECURITY – OPPORTUNITIES AND DANGERS?

Speakers:
Wendy R. Anderson, Senior Vice President, Federal, National Security, Palantir Technologies
James Appathurai, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges
Anu Bradford, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization, Columbia Law School
Pekka Laurila, Co-founder, ICEYE

Moderator: Greg Miller, Investigative Foreign Correspondent, Washington Post

INTERVIEW ON STAGE

H. R. McMaster, Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Moderator: Kim Dozier, CNN Global Affairs Analyst

SESSION III: REVERBERATIONS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Speakers:
Ummu Salma Bava, Professor and Jean Monnet Chair, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jessica Berlin, Founder and Managing Director, CoStruct; Vice Chairman, Bridge Technologies
Andrew Michta, Senior Fellow and Director of the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative, Atlantic Council of the United States
Euan Graham, Senior Analyst, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
Lynn Kuok, Senior Fellow, IISS-Singapore
Barry Pavel, Vice President, RAND National Security Research Division; Director, National Defense Research Institute

Moderator: Mikael Mattlin, Research Professor, FIIA

SESSION IV: ENHANCING EUROPE’S DEFENCE CAPABILITIES

Speakers:
Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO SACEUR
Ulrike Franke, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
Pål Jonson, Minister for Defence of Sweden
Michael Kofman, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment; Principal Research Scientist, CAN
Esa Rautalinko, CEO, Patria

Moderator: Teri Schultz, Freelance Journalist for NPR & Deutsche Welle

NIGHT OWL SESSION: FOR A RAINY DAY: LEARNING ABOUT THE NUCLEAR UMBRELLA

Speakers:
Jessica Cox, Director, Nuclear Policy Directorate, NATO
Jyri Lavikainen, Research Fellow, FIIA
Frank A. Rose, Principal Deputy Administrator, U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Moderator: Tiina Raijas, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Defence of Finland

Live-streamed

Closed session

SUNDAY 1.10.2023

Time

Session

9:00-10:15

10:30-11:45

11:45-12:15

SESSION V: REJECTING RUSSIAN SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

Speakers:
Keir Giles, Senior Consulting Fellow, Chatham House
Sinikukka Saari, Research Director, FIIA
Stanislav Secrieru, National Security Advisor, Presidential Administration, Republic of Moldova

Moderator: Henry Foy, Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

SESSION VI: ECONOMIC SECURITY AS NATIONAL SECURITY

Speakers:
Braz Baracuhy, Chargé d’Affaires of Brazil to the WTO
Sarah Bauerle Danzman, Associate Professor, Indiana University
David O’Sullivan, EU Sanctions Envoy, European Comission
Mikael Wigell, Research Director, FIIA

Moderator: Alexandra Pasternak-Jackson, CEO, AmCham Finland

CLOSING REMARKS

Live-streamed

Speakers

Alex Dalziel

Senior Fellow, The Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Catharina Candolin

Cyber Security Expert, OP Group

Charles Powell

Director, Royal Elcano Institute

Charly Salonius-Pasternak

Leading Researcher, FIIA

Dag Hartelius

Director of National Intelligence, Prime Minister’s Office, Sweden

Dubai Abulhoul

Founder and CEO, Fiker Institute

Esa Rautalinko

President & CEO, Patria

Henry Foy

Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

James Appathurai

Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, NATO HQ

Juha Martelius

Head of Finnish Intelligence Service

Katja Creutz

Programme Director, FIIA

Kori Schake

Senior Fellow and the Director of foreign and defense policy studies, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)

Kristin Ven Bruusgaard

Director, Norwegian Intelligence School

Masatoshi Murakami

Associate Professor, Department of Contemporary Society, Kogakkan University

Max Bergmann

Director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, CSIS

Michal Onderco

Professor of International Relations, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Mikk Marran

Former Director General of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service

Sylvie Kaufmann

Editorial Director, Le Monde

Tuija Karanko

Secretary General, Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries (PIA)

Ville Sinkkonen

Senior Research Fellow, FIIA

HSF is Organised by

Partners

Contact

Kukka-Maria Kovsky

Head of Strategic Partnerships at FIIA,
Head of the HSF Secretariat
kukka-maria.kovsky@fiia.fi

Anni Lindgren

Specialist,
HSF Conference Coordinator
anni.lindgren@fiia.fi

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