The 13th annual Moscow International Security Meeting officially began Tuesday in the Russian capital, drawing delegations from across the globe for high-level discussions on global and regional security challenges.
Chaired by Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the conference features over 125 delegations representing more than 100 countries and over 20 international organizations. The event is scheduled to run until May 29th.
According to Russian state media, this year’s conference will focus on a range of emerging global threats, including terrorism, cybercrime, and cross-border challenges—issues that, according to organizers, require international cooperation and collective responses.
Delegates from major multilateral organizations such as BRICS, ASEAN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are also in attendance. These groups are expected to hold informal consultations with one another on the sidelines of the official agenda.
One of the central themes of the gathering is the opposition among regional states to becoming battlegrounds for great power competition—a not-so-subtle reference to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Moscow continues to assert that the conflict is the result of NATO and the West using Ukraine as a proxy to wage war against Russia.
A notable addition to this year’s participants is a delegation from the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan. Russia is currently in the process of normalizing relations with the Taliban. In response to recent U.S. criticisms regarding the American withdrawal from Bagram Air Base, Afghan officials have publicly stated that Afghanistan will no longer be used by major powers to confront other nations, citing its strategic position near China, Iran, and Russia.
Also attending is North Korea’s Minister of State Security, Ri Chang Dae, marking another sign of the deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. Over the past year, cooperation between the two has intensified, including reports of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region against Ukrainian forces.
The high turnout—especially from Global South nations—highlights a growing push among non-Western countries to engage in security dialogues independent of Western-led forums. Participants say the conference underscores a shifting global security landscape, with a renewed emphasis on multilateralism among emerging powers.