MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The 61st edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) kicked off its three-day gathering on Friday.

The annual conference, which pledges to offer "an unparalleled platform for high-level debates on the key foreign and security policy challenges," is gathering more than 60 heads of state and government, as well as over 150 ministers around the world.

This year's conference is drawing immense global attention as it comes amid growing concern over the prospects of transatlantic relations and rising fragmentation of the global environment.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

The MSC was born as a venue for dialogue among allied countries in the West in 1963 and thus has been dubbed a "transatlantic family meeting." Although the circle of participants has grown over the years, the "Davos of Defense" still adopts a Western-centric mentality.

The main program, starting Friday, is to focus on pressing global security challenges such as global governance, democratic resilience and climate security.

On Saturday, discussions will turn to the state of the international order, regional conflicts and the future of the transatlantic partnership. The conference will close on Sunday with debates about Europe's role in global affairs.

The conference offers a platform for significant debate, featuring around 200 side events and dozens of public outreach activities.

This year's Munich Security Report, titled "Multipolarization," will also shape discussions, particularly the growing multipolarity of the international order.

"We already live in a world shaped by 'multipolarization,'" reads the report, as power is shifting toward a larger number of actors who have the ability to influence key global issues.

This process has brought expectations across the world that multipolarization would create opportunities for more inclusive global governance and greater constraints on Washington, long seen as too dominant a power by many, the report said.

Discussions on the Ukraine crisis will surely catch most of the limelight at this year's gathering given recent U.S. attempts to set the stage for negotiations to end the almost three-year-old conflict.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have confirmed their attendance at the conference.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also due to meet Vance in Munich.

TRANSATLANTIC ANXIETIES

This year's meeting also comes when anxieties are rising across Europe. The United States under Donald Trump is seeking to shift the bulk of the burden of defending the continent onto European NATO allies.

Trump has consistently criticized what he perceives as inadequate defense spending in certain NATO countries, urging allies to raise their contributions to 5 percent of their GDP, more than double the current target.

Achieving the target will be challenging for many of NATO's 32 member countries. Poland leads the alliance, allocating just over 4 percent of its GDP to defense, while eight other nations have yet to reach even 2 percent.

The Munich Security Report said that the U.S. "may be abdicating its historic role as Europe's security guarantor -- with significant consequences for Ukraine."

Europe's growing concerns are compounded by actions already taken by the new U.S. administration, including the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, measures the EU "sees no justification" and "will not go unanswered," noted a European official.

"Europe must use the potential for transatlantic tensions to get its act together and start working on necessary internal market reforms and boost European innovation and competitiveness," Peterson Institute for International Economics commented in an opinion piece.

A stronger economy is the best way to foster resilience at a time of global instability, it added. Enditem

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