The questions of how to achieve a nuclear-free world, a stable Middle East and security in general will occupy participants at the Munich Security Conference as it starts its second day Saturday.
The day will start with a video message from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Conference organizer Wolfgang Ischinger told attendees Friday that Ban had planned to attend the conference this year, but had to cancel after last month's earthquake in Haiti, which has demanded significant UN resources.
Next will come a series of speeches on European and global security. Speakers scheduled include German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, US National Security Advisor James Jones and European Union foreign policy director Catherine Ashton.
Their speeches will all follow a late-night session Friday, in which Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki - who only decided to attend the event at the last minute - said he hoped for an international deal giving his country access to enriched uranium soon, but said that he wanted changes to the details of the proposal.
Mottaki's decision to attend the conference, along with his statements, has put significant focus on Iran's nuclear ambitions, dovetailing with Ischinger's goal of making nuclear disarmament a major topic for the event.
The first afternoon session will focus on the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and the possibility of a nuclear -free world.
Scheduled panelists include: US Senator John Kerry, a former Democratic presidential candidate and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov; and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former vice chancellor of Germany and a leading member of its Social Democrat party.
A final afternoon session is to focus on Middle East peace. Speakers are to include: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon and US Senator Joseph Lieberman, who heads the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Late Saturday, at a private dinner, Javier Solana, the former EU head of foreign policy, is to receive the Ewald von Kleist award from the conference. The award, which was presented last year for the first time to former US national security advisor Henry Kissinger, is to recognize contributions to peace and conflict resolution. /Trend News/
The day will start with a video message from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
