Germany: Hundreds of politicians to attend Munich Conference, including Scholz, Macron, Harris

Olaf Scholz

BERLIN, February 13. /TASS/: Several hundred politicians from around the world will attend the Munich Security Conference set to take place from February 17-19, with more than a hundred of them being presidents, heads of government or ministers, chairman of the conference Christoph Heusgen told journalists in Berlin on Monday.

"Of these, 150 are high-level government representatives," Heusgen said.

Earlier, it was reported that US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, the Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and Politburo member Wang Yi would attend the conference. Heusgen confirmed their participation.

The Chairman also named Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva among the participants. Heusgen also specified that around 20 Ukrainian MPs, as well as US senators, would arrive in Munich.

Russian officials have not been invited this year. According to Heusgen, "representatives of Russian civil society" will come to the Bavarian capital.

The Munich Conference was founded in 1962 by the German publicist Ewald von Kleist as a "meeting of defense representatives" of NATO member states. Since 1999, politicians and military officers from Central and Eastern European states, as well as business representatives, have participated in the event. The forum traditionally hosts numerous informal and personal meetings between politicians to discuss new security policy initiatives.