Event Overview

The NATO Public Forum is a public event jointly organised by NATO and the Host Nation Government with civil society organisations, taking place during the Summit meetings of NATO’s Heads of State and Government.

The Public Forum aims to promote a better public understanding of NATO’s policies and goals and the decisions to be adopted at the Washington Summit, through dialogue and engagement with a unique and diverse group of stakeholders, from Heads of State and Government and Ministers, to international security experts, opinion formers, academics, journalists and young people, in a series of panel discussions, debates, and interactive sessions on various topics on NATO’s agenda.

This year the NATO Public Forum is co-hosted by NATO with the United States Government during the Washington Summit, in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), GLOBSEC, German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), and the Hudson Institute.

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NATO Public Forum | Day 1, 10 July 2024

NATO Public Forum | Day 2, 11 July 2024

Pictures from NATO Public Forum 2024

NATO Public Forum Programme

7:00

PARTICIPANTS ARRIVALS

09:00 – 09:05

CONFERENCE OPENING

Introduction by Marie-Doha Besancenot, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy & Amanda Mansour, Special Assistant to the United States President and Senior Director for Partnerships and Global Engagement

09:05 – 09:35

Look-Ahead: Defending Our Future

Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, United States

 

Moderated by Heather A. Conley, President, GMF

09:35 – 09:50

A CONVERSATION

The Military Scene-Setter

 

General Christopher Cavoli
Commander, US European Command Supreme Allied Commander Europe

 

Moderated by Peter Rough, Senior Fellow & Director, Center on Europe & Eurasia, Hudson Institute

09:50 – 10:05

SPOTLIGHT

The Defense Scene-Setter

 

Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense, United States

Introduced by Frederick Kempe, President & CEO, Atlantic Council

10:05 – 10:35

COFFEE BREAK

10:05 - 10:20

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Spotlight on NATO’s History and Geography

 

Douglas Lute, US Ambassador to NATO, 2013-2017

Rachel Rizzo, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council

10:20-10:35

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Leaders’ View

10:35 – 10:40

OUTREACH

Vox Pop from the US Heartland

10:40 – 11:00

A CONVERSATION

The Political Scene-Setter Keynote

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General, NATO

 

Moderated by Frederick Kempe, President & CEO, Atlantic Council

11:00 – 11:55

PANEL DISCUSSION

Strengthening the Transatlantic Bond

 

Petr Pavel, President, Czechia
Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister, Denmark
Kaja Kallas, ime Minister, Estonia
James E. Risch, Ranking Member, Foreign Relations Committee, United States Senate

 

Moderated by Róbert Vass, President, GLOBSEC

11:55-12:00

VOX POP FROM THE NATO YOUTH SUMMIT

12:00-1:15

LUNCH BREAK

12:00 – 12:15

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Leaders’ View

12:15 – 12:30

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Leader’s view

 

Alexander de Croo, Prime Minister, Belgium

 

Moderated by Alena Kudzko, Vice President for Policy and Programming, GLOBSEC

12:30 – 1:00 pm

PROGRAM BREAK

1:00-1:15

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Leaders’ View

 

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister, Greece

 

Moderated by Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

1:15 – 1:20

OUTREACH

Vox Pop from NATO’s Eastern Borders

1:20 – 2:05

PANEL DISCUSSION

European Security Transformed: The War Against Ukraine

 

Radoslaw Sikorski, Foreign Minister, Poland
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Foreign Minister, Lithuania
Micael Johansson, President & CEO, SAAB

 

Moderated by Jenna Ben-Yehuda, Executive Vice-President, Atlantic Council

2:05 – 2:25

SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on Russian Forces Reconstitution: After
Ukraine, What Can NATO Expect?

Baiba Braze, Foreign Minister, Latvia
Dara Massicot, Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CEIP

 

Moderated by Henry Foy, Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

2:25 – 3:10

PANEL DISCUSSION

NATO Policy Towards Russia

 

Scene-Setter: Peter Pellegrini, President, Slovakia

John Healey, State Secretary for Defence, UK
Andris Sprūds, Minister of National Defence, Latvia
LTG (Ret) Ben Hodges, Distinguished Fellow, GLOBSEC, and former Commander, US Army Europe

 

Moderated by Luke Coffey, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

3:10-3:40

COFFEE BREAK

03:10 – 03:25

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

A View from NATO’s Veterans

Mario Marquez, Director, National Security Division, American Legion
LCol Melanie Lake, Canadian Armed Forces

3:25 – 3:40

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Seen from the US Senate Armed Services Committee

 

Roger Wicker, Ranking Member, Armed Services Committee, United States Senate

 

Moderated by John Walters, President & CEO, Hudson Institute

3:40 – 4:30

PANEL DISCUSSION

The Axis of Upheaval


Benedetta Berti, Head Policy Planning, NATO
Jon Alterman, Senior Vice President, CSIS

Moderated by David Shullman, Senior Director of Global China Hub, Atlantic Council

4:30 – 4:45

CONVERSATION

NATO Looks South: A Perspective on Strategy and Partnerships

 

Pedro Sanchez Prime Minister, Spain

Moderated by Stephen E. Biegun, Trustee, GMF and Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy, The Boeing Company

4:45 – 5:30

PANEL DISCUSSION

Nordic Security Redrawn

 

Pål Jonson, Minister of Defence, Sweden
Antti Häkkänen, Minister of Defence, Finland
Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Iceland
Bjørn Arild Gram, Minister of Defence, Norway
William Blair, Minister of National Defence, Canada

 

Moderator Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

4:25 – 5:15

PANEL DISCUSSION (in parallel)

Nuclear Check-up

 

Austin Long, Directorate for Strategy, Plans and Policy, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Josef Pitt-Rashid, Strategy and Policy Director, for Defence (Nuclear), United Kingdom
LTG Bertrand Le Meur, Director of Defense Strategy, Prospective and Counter-Proliferation, French Ministry of the Armed Forces
Angus Lapsley, Assistant Secretary General, NATO

 

Moderated by Rebeccah Heinrichs, Senior Fellow and Director, Keystone Defense Initiative, Hudson Institute

5:15-5:25

BREAK TO REJOIN PLENARY

5:25 - 5:55

PANEL DISCUSSION

Legislative Commitment to Transatlantic Security

Jeanne Shaheen, Senator (D), US Senate, Co-Chair, Senate NATO Observer Group
Thom Tillis, Senator (R), US Senate, Co-Chair, Senate NATO Observer Group

 

Moderated by Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent, USA Today

5:55 – 6:25

PANEL DISCUSSION

Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Women in Leadership

 

Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister, Ukraine
Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council
Irene Fellin, NATO Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security

 

 

Moderated by Andrew Desiderio, Senior Congressional Reporter, Punchbowl News

6:45

Bus movement to evening social

7:00

PARTICIPANTS ARRIVALS

09:00 – 09:05

CONFERENCE OPENING

Introduction by Marie-Doha Besancenot, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy and Julianne Smith, United States Ambassador to NATO

9:10 – 9:25

A CONVERSATION

NATO-Ukraine Partnership

Andryi Yermak, Chief of President’s Cabinet, Ukraine

 

Moderated by Róbert Vass, President, GLOBSEC

9:25 – 9:45

PANEL DISCUSSION

NATO Leadership on Climate and Energy Security

 

Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway

John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy


Moderated by Beth Sanner, Resident Distinguished Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

9:45 – 9:50

OUTREACH

Vox Pop from the Arctic

9:50 – 10:20

COFFEE BREAK

9:50 – 10:05

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

In the Spotlight: Accelerating Transformation, Delivering Strategic Advantage

 

Philippe Lavigne, General, Supreme Allied Commander  Transformation

Moderated by Jim Townsend, Adjunct Fellow, Transatlantic Security Program, CNAS

10:05 – 10:20

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Youth Voices on the Stakes in Ukraine

Josie Bloom, Student, American University
Mariam Kublashvili, Vice-President, Youth Atlantic Treaty Association

Moderated by Max Klymenko, influencer

10:20-10:50

PANEL DISCUSSION

NATO in a Digital World

 

Karan Bhatia, Global Head, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google 
Robert Blair, General Manager, National Security and Emerging Technologies, Microsoft
Ludwig Decamps, General Manager, NATO Communications & Information Agency

 

Moderated by Karen Kornbluh, Distinguished Fellow, GMF

10:50-11:05

SPOTLIGHT

Day 2: Political Scene-Setter Keynote

 

Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, United States

 

Introduced by Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council

11:05-11:30

PANEL DISCUSSION

Addressing the Evolving Threat of Terrorism

 

Nick J. Rasmussen, Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Department of Homeland Security, United States

Tom Goffus, Assistant Secretary General for Operations and NATO Secretary General’s Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism

Moderated by Alena Kudzko, Vice President for Policy and Programming, GLOBSEC

11:30 – 12:15

PANEL DISCUSSION

Time to Flex the Muscles: Building a Resilient
Transatlantic Defence Industry

 

Stacy Cummings, General Manager, NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA)

Max Peterson, Vice President of Sovereign Cloud, Amazon Web Services

Stephen O’Bryan, Corporate Vice President and Global Business Development Officer, Northrop Grumman


Moderated by Martin Sklenár, Distinguished Fellow, GLOBSEC

12:15 -1:30

LUNCH BREAK

12:15 – 12:45

STUDIO INTERVIEW

Whole of Society Resilience: The Home Front

 

Don Graves, US Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Caitlin Durkovich Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Homeland Security Advisor for Resilience and Response

Moderated by Shanthi Kalathil, Visiting Senior Fellow, GMF and former Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Democracy

12:45-01:30

REQUIRED BREAK

1:30 – 1:50

A CONVERSATION

The Future of NATO

 

Mircea Geoană, Deputy Secretary General of NATO

Moderated by Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director, Transatlantic Security Program, CNAS

1:50-2:00

PROGRAM BREAK

2:00-2:20

A CONVERSATION

Priorities in the Indo-Pacific

Yoon Suk Yeol, President, Republic of Korea

Moderated by Kenneth R. Weinstein, President Emeritus, Hudson Institute

2:20-2:35

CONVERSATION

The NATO-EU Partnership

 

 

Josep Borrell, Vice-President, European Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Moderated by Heather A. Conley, President, GMF

2:35 – 3:05

COFFEE BREAK

2:35-2:50

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

Spotlight on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Gerald E. Connolly, Congressman, US House of Representatives, and President, NATO Parliamentary Assembly 

Moderated by Kristine Berzina, Managing Director, Geostrategy North, German Marshall Fund

2:50-3:05

STUDIO INTERVIEW WITH ONLINE AUDIENCE

NATO’s Southern Neighborhood(s)

Javier Colomina, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political and Security Policy, NATO

Youseff Amrani, Ambassador of Morocco to the United States

Moderated by Ana Santos Pinto, Chair, Independent Expert Group Supporting NATO’s Comprehensive and Deep Reflection Process on the Southern Neighborhood

3:05 – 3:50

PANEL DISCUSSION

NATO’s Partnerships

 

Scene-Setter: Kurt M. Campbell, Deputy US Secretary of State

Mihai Popsoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Moldova

Simon Draper, Ambassador of New Zealand to the European Union and NATO

Mirna Galic, Senior Policy Analyst, China & East Asia, United States Institute of Peace

 

Moderated by Richard Fontaine, Chief Executive Officer, Center for a New American Security

3:50 – 4:40

PANEL DISCUSSION

Disruptive and Innovative Technologies

Rand Waldron, Vice-President, Oracle Cloud
Steve Walker, Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin
Bryan Wells, Chief Scientist, NATO

 

Moderated by Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

3:50 – 4:40

PANEL DISCUSSION (in parallel)

Hybrid Warfare in an Era of Uncertainty

 

Caspar Veldkamp, Foreign Minister, Netherlands

Tanja Fajon, Foreign Minister, Slovenia

Marie-Doha Besancenot, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO


Moderated by Alexander Ward, Correspondent, Politico

3:50 – 4:40

PANEL DISCUSSION (in parallel)

The Grand Chessboard in Practice: NATO’s role in the Western Balkans

 

Elmedin Konaković, Foreign Minister,  Bosnia and Herzegovina

Daniel Mitov, Member of the National Assembly and former Foreign Minister, Republic of Bulgaria

Miroslav Wlachovský, Distinguished Fellow, GLOBSEC, and former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Slovak Republic

 

Moderated by Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, former Commander, NATO HQ Sarajevo

4:40 – 4:45

BREAK TO REGROUP IN PLENARY

4:45-5:00

A CONVERSATION

Summit Hot-Wash

 

Admiral Robert Bauer, Chair, NATO Military Committee

 

Moderated by Heather A. Conley, President, GMF

5:00 - 5:05

CONCLUDING SEGMENT

NATO Public Diplomacy & USG Official

Conclusion by Marie-Doha Besancenot, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy & Amanda Mansour, Special Assistant to the United States President and Senior Director for Partnerships and Global Engagement

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