The Rīga Conference 2025
Unity, Security and Resilience in a Fragmented World
THE MAIN PROGRAM
OCTOBER 9
12:00 - 13:30
Registration & Coffee
Opening of the Rīga Conference 2025
13:30 - 14:00
Masters of Ceremonies:
Eva Johansone, Latvian Journalist
Tomass Pildegovičs, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia on Security and Societal Resilience
Welcoming remarks by Jānis Karlsbergs, Head of the Board of the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation
Welcoming remarks by H.E. Evika Siliņa, Prime Minister of Latvia
Welcoming remarks by Prof. Gundars Bērziņš, Rector of the University of Latvia
What Next on the Road to Peace through Strength?
Lasting peace can only be achieved through strength – and making clear to Russia that it cannot win. Russia continues its brutal invasion and aerial bombardment of Ukraine, while also escalating brazen provocations against NATO member states with the aim of intimidating, dividing, and eroding resolve. Democracies must stay united and use all means necessary to defend our interests, not least through generational investments in security and defence. What "homework" must individual NATO member states do - politically, economically, and militarily - to uphold peace through strength? Are current EU and US sanctions against Russia strategically calibrated to degrade its warfighting capacity? What new vectors of pressure - energy, technology, financial - could shift the strategic calculus in Moscow?
14:00 - 15:20
H.E. Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Amb. Matthew G. Whitaker, Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO
Ret. Adm. Rob Bauer, the 33rd Chair of the Military Committee of the NATO
Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute
Moderator: Edward Luce, US National Editor and Columnist at the Financial Times
15:20 - 15:40
Coffee Break
A Deeper Look: Strategic Investments in European Defence Industry
In the face of rising global geopolitical tensions, there are increased expectations and a need for European ability to step up readiness and resilience, while strengthening the EU’s industrial base at the same time. The EU has come up with reinforcing Defence policy framework rooted in White paper for European defence - Readiness 2030. From facilitating new investments and creating new loan instruments to reducing administrative burden, the EU offers a range of tools designed to enhance defence capabilities across all member states. However, small EU members face unique challenges in defence, such as limited resources, restricted loan opportunities, smaller defence budgets and restricted industrial capacities compared to larger EU nations. Considering the existing framework, it important to examine how smaller EU powers can effectively access and maximize the EU’s instruments to promote innovation, build industrial capacity, and participate meaningfully in cross-border defence cooperation. In what ways can the EU further tailor its instruments to ensure inclusiveness and effectiveness for all member states? The panel will address the barriers that persist and offer policy recommendations to ensure small states are not just participants, but strategic actors in shaping Europe’s defence future. How Defence entrepreneurs see existing framework of industry support – is it helping them to take part in the major supply chains? Do these instruments help small EU members to move from small and fragmented to large and joint defence procurements?
Key-note by Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner Responsible for Defence and Space at the European Commission
Key-note by Karl Nehammer, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank
15:40 – 17:00
Plenary
Session
Arvils Ašeradens, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia
Jeanette Vitasp, Vice President, Head of Lending, the Nordic Investment Bank
Ingmārs Pūķis, Marketing and Business Development Vice President and Member of the Management Board of the LMT
Nora Malchin, Section Head of the Innovation Hub at NATO
Moderator: Dr. Edward Hunter Christie, Political Affairs Director with Hypersonica, Chief Analyst with the Economic Security Forum
17:00 - 17:30
Coffee Break
Plans, Resources, and Will: How to Keep Ukraine Running?
Ukraine is not only fighting a war for existential survival, it is managing to keep an entire country functioning under constant attack. Power grids, fuel, medicine, logistics, governance, salaries – all cogs in the machine must keep running despite drones and missiles flying overhead. In year 4 of resisting Russia’s full scale invasion, Ukraine’s financial needs continue to grow. In providing support, the choices we make now will affect both Ukraine’s ability to withstand the war, and its future recovery. How is Ukraine managing with the limited resources? What institutional and financial mechanisms are needed to ensure long-term, predictable European support for Ukraine? Have we, as Europeans, fully grasped the strategic importance and consequences of the decisions we make?
17:30 - 18:50
Plenary
Session
Amb. Anatoly Kutsevol, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Latvia
Matti Maasikas, Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service
Colin Smith, International/Defence Researcher, Sr. Defence and Political Sciences Department of RAND
John Swords, The Legal Adviser (General Counsel) at NATO
Moderator: Oleksandra Vakulina, Euronews' Business Editor
Beyond the Battlefield: Ukraine’s Story Through Art and Culture
Art and culture in times of war are more than creative expression — they are channels of communication, memory, and resilience. Artistic voices can speak across borders and generations, conveying experiences of loss, resistance, and hope in ways that political language cannot. This conversation will explore how art becomes a tool for documenting reality, challenging propaganda, and sustaining cultural identity under conditions of conflict. It will also highlight the communicative power of visual, literary, and performative arts to connect societies, nurture empathy, and strengthen international solidarity. In doing so, it asks how creative expression can help communities navigate trauma, foster resilience, and keep alive the vision of peace even amidst war.
18:50 - 19:10
Special
Conversation
Andrii Dostliev, Independent Visual Artist, Ukraine/Poland
Dr. Gunda Reire, Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia and Director of the Center for International Studies
19:10 - 19:30
Coffee Break
20:30 - 21:30
Welcome Dinner
NIGHT OWL SESSION
Session is held under the “Chatham House Rule”
Another Battlefield- Arctic
The Arctic has become one of the key theatres for geopolitical competition, driven by Russia’s militarization and China’s strategic investments under its "near-Arctic state" ambitions. Amid the war in Ukraine, Russia has bolstered its military presence and infrastructure in the region, while China seeks influence through economic initiatives and resource access. What should be the response of NATO and of the countries of the region? What are implications for regional security, and the importance of international cooperation to prevent the Arctic from becoming a future conflict zone?
21:30 – 22:30
Night Owl
Session
Maria Varteressian, State Secretary for Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Founder of Pendulum Geopolitical Advisory Group
Serafima Andreeva, Researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute
Dr. Christian Leuprecht, Professor in Leadership, Department of Political Science and Economics, Royal Military College of Canada, Department of Political Studies and the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University
Moderator: John Barter, Senior Advisor to the CEO of the Globsec
OCTOBER 10
Opening of the Second Day of the Conference
10:00 - 10:30
H.E. Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament
Increasing Europe’s Capabilities to Uphold the Transatlantic Link
Since Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO has taken a pivotal shift on its defence and capability planning, prioritizing collective defence as the core focus. NATO has connected operational and defence planning in a greater strength and set capability aims that will influence national policies for the next decades. It’s not a call for Europe to step up defence spending, it’s European commitment to do so, rooted in the need to address current threats and a need to resource NATO defence plans. A major step forward was a commitment to increase defence spending to 5% of national GDP by 2035 agreed at The Hague Summit. A challenge for North-Atlantic nations is to balance efficient spending and defence requirements. In consequence, it is important to assess how European Allies are shaping national policies and taking up greater burden in order to achieve NATO capability targets and commitments. How has the weight of the burden stressed the Eastern Flank, urging small states to punch above their weight? How should nations address disparities - uneven spending and economic-political constraints, while also considering current technological leap?
10:30 - 11:30
Dr. Andris Sprūds, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Sebastian Hartmann, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry of Defense, Germany
Lt. Gen. Eric Peltier, Deputy Director General for International Relations and Strategy at the Ministry of Armed Forces, France
Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute
Moderator: Eleonora Russell, Writer and Strategic Communication Advisor
11:30 - 12:00
Coffee Break
Special Conversation/Opening of the Book “If You Want Peace, Prepare for War”
12:00 - 12:20
Ret. Adm. Rob Bauer, the 33rd Chair of the Military Committee of the NATO
Pauls Raudseps, Journalist
Domestic Repression and External Aggression: The Many Faces of Russian Imperialism
Russia is explicitly reviving imperial strategies of spheres of influence, territorial grabs, economic coercion and cultural influence. Russia's historical narrative, built on notions of greatness, cultural superiority, and “traditional values”, underpins its imperial ambitions. These imperial strategies remain a force in global geopolitics, shaping Russia’s relationships with the countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and parts of Eastern Europe. What does Russian soft and hard power offer to the countries near and far? How effective is Russia at escaping international isolation and finding allies and partners in the other regions of the world? How is Russia adapting its modes of domestic repression to sustain its war effort?
12:20 - 13:20
David Cattler, Former Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, the United States
Dr. Natasha Kuhrt, Senior Lecturer in International Peace and Security in the Department of War Studies at the Kings College London
Dr. Stefan Meister, Head of the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at the German Council on Foreign Relations
Dr. Marie Mendras, Professor at Sciences Po - Paris School of International Affairs
Moderator: Dr. Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, Director, King's Russia Institute at the Kings College London
13:20 - 14:00
Lunch Break
Accelerating the Adoption of New Defence Technologies
Warfighting has become increasingly digitized, and the pace of technological development imposes new kinds of challenges for governments and the defence industry. Equipping to deal with the realities of an increasingly connected, data-enabled battlespace will strengthen NATO’s ability to ensure deterrence against existing threats and have the advantage over the enemy in a future contest. Cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and quantum computing, new technologies are revolutionizing defence strategies and operational capabilities. However, these technologies are changing in the speed that overtakes the usual technology adoption and integration process. There are aspects that need to be explored – how to accelerate the adoption and integration process of new defence technologies in national forces, ensuring that this process does not lag behind technological development? How to go from identification of a need to the acquisition and through testing, evaluation, verification and validation process within the shortest possible time? How do existing mechanisms serve the purpose or, on the contrary, hold nations back?
14:00 - 15:00
Dmitri Alperovitch, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator
Agris Ķipurs, Co-founder & CEO at Origin Robotics
Dr. Hector Guerrero, Deputy Director General for Aerospace Policy and Strategy, General Secretariat for Innovation, at the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities
Līga Raita Rozentāle, Head of Public Policy for CrowdStrike in Europe and Internationally
Kaspars Pollaks, Director of LMT Defence
Moderator: Richard Walker, Deutche Welle Chief International Editor
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee Pause
Security in a Fragmented World Order
In a world marked by shifting power dynamics and changing geopolitical realities, traditional security and economic frameworks are strained, adherence to international law is fraying, and regional tensions deepen. These dynamics challenge the capacity of global institutions, including the United Nations, to prevent conflict, manage crises, and maintain peace and security. The question is no longer whether the world can return to old models of stability, but how existing frameworks can be adapted to reflect today's realities. How can states navigate competing interests to ensure security and prevent escalation in a fragmented world order? How do the shifts in alliances reflect on the security architecture today? What are the consequences of living in nostalgia or clinging on to a world that no longer exists?
15:30 – 16:30
Plenary
Session
Amb. Zeki Levent Gümrükçü, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye
Amb. Angus Campbell, Australia's Ambassador to Belgium, the Ambassador to the European Union, the NATO and Luxembourg
Prof. Jae-Seung Lee, Director of the Ilmin International Relations Institute, Director of the Jean Monnet EU Center of Excellence at Korea University
Moderator: Alena Kudzko, Executive Director, Globsec US Foundation
16:30 – 17:00
Coffee Break
Out of the Gray Zone: Countering Subconventional Threats in the Baltic Sea Region
The Baltic Sea region has become the centre of gravity of Russia’s gray zone aggression and increasingly escalatory provocations. Cables are cut, infrastructure and air space are probed, and ambiguity is weaponised. These operations remain below the threshold of conventional warfare yet normalise Russian coercion against EU and NATO member states. Hybrid tactics rely on plausible deniability, vagueness, proxies, cyber-attacks, economic pressure, covert sabotage, psychological pressure and disinformation to fracture decision-making and delay responses. The contest lies in the grey zone, where deterrence is harder to project and even harder to measure. Europe must rethink its response thresholds and legal frameworks to meet these evolving challenges. Effective countermeasures must combine legal innovation, societal resilience, and strategic messaging. Are regional actors adapting fast enough to defend from what can't always be seen or even named? What role should NATO and the EU play in aligning response strategies across the region, and where do national interests diverge?
17:00 – 18:00
Plenary
Session
H. E. Margus Tsahkna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia
Johannes Peters, Head of Center for Maritime Strategy & Security at ISPK
Airis Rikveilis, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Latvia
Col. Hans Granlund, Chief of Staff Commander Task Force Baltic
John Swords, The Legal Adviser (General Counsel) at NATO
Moderator: Minna Ålander, Senior Fellow at the Stockholm Free World Forum
18:00 – 18:30
Coffee Break
Enabling Defence: The Role of Military Mobility and Infrastructure
Military credibility doesn’t end with strategy — it begins with the ability to execute. Forces must move, sustain, communicate, and strike when needed. From logistics corridors and prepositioned stocks to command infrastructure, host-nation support, and energy readiness, enabling defence is what turns deterrence into real capability. Europe’s ability to deploy at scale and under pressure remains the decisive test of deterrence. Bureaucratic, infrastructural, and hybrid barriers still limit rapid movement and coordination across borders, while critical infrastructure itself is increasingly under threat. In this context, such projects as the Rail Baltica- one of the largest and most strategically significant dual-use infrastructure projects in the Baltic region - exemplifies how modern transport corridors can serve both economic and defence needs. Its development offers valuable lessons on integrating civilian and military mobility to strengthen resilience and enhance Europe's collective defence capabilities. How can NATO and the EU ensure that forces can move faster, farther, and with greater resilience across contested environments? What investments and partnerships are needed to make Europe’s infrastructure truly fit for defence?
18:30 – 19:30
Plenary
Session
Maj. Gen. Kaspars Pudāns, Chief of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Cécile Maisonneuve, President and Founder of the Decysive
Lt.Col. Erik Stijnman, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael’s Security Unit
Rihards Kols, Member of the European Parliament, European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Industry, Research and Energy Committee
Moderator: Julian Lindley-French, Chairman of The Alphen Group (TAG)
Concert and Reception in the StPeter’s Church
20:30 - 22:00
Concert and Reception in the StPeter’s Church
OCTOBER 11
Tariffs, Protectionism, and the New Geopolitics of the World Economy
Tariffs, industrial policy, and economic security are no longer niche debates but central themes of the international geopolitical agenda. Once seen as relics of a bygone era, tariffs are back in force. The resurgence of tariffs and industrial subsidies threaten the very fabric of trade on which such globally integrated economies rely. Protectionism is increasingly justified not just in economic terms, but as a matter of national security, resilience, and strategic autonomy. Governments are recalibrating their trade policies to manage both domestic political pressures and external geopolitical turbulences. Are we seeing the end of the liberal, rules-based multilateral trading system? Can global supply chains survive in a world of decoupling and friend-shoring? What does the return of tariffs mean for smaller economies caught between great-power rivalries? How are emerging economies navigating between protectionist pressures and the need for open markets?
10:30 – 11:30
Plenary
Session
Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity at the European Commission
Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor of the Central Bank of Latvia
Dr. Maria Shagina, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies
Edward Luce, US National Editor and Columnist at the Financial Times
Moderator: Oliver Crook, Bloomberg TV's Chief Europe Correspondent
11:30 - 12:00
Coffee Break
The Future of Multilateralism: The UN's Evolving Role in a Fragmented World
In an era marked by geopolitical rivalries and a growing fracturing of the multilateral system, the United Nations faces mounting pressure to demonstrate its relevance and effectiveness. From protracted conflicts and climate-induced crises to cyber threats and economical fragmentation, the scale and complexity of today's challenges tests the very foundations of multilateral cooperation. At a time when global solidarity is fraying, revitalising the UN's capacity to act decisively has become pivotal. How can member states forge coalitions that renew trust and legitimacy in the UN system? What institutional reforms are needed to make the UN more relevant and resilient? What role can the UN Security Council play – in particular, its elected members – at a time when there is mounting pressure to swap multilateralism for multipolarity and abandon cooperation in favour of transactionalism in international relations?
12:00 – 13:00
Plenary
Session
H.E. Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Amb. Amr El-Sherbiny, Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral and International Security of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Vanessa Frazier, Malta's Permanent Representative to the UN on the UNSC
Dr. Juan Battaleme, State Secretary for the International Relations at the Argentinian Ministry of Defence
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America
Moderator: Jānis Mažeiks, Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
13:00
Concluding Remarks by Jānis Karlsbergs, Head of the Board of the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation