Tibet Represented at the Halifax Forum

By Dorji Kyi / November 25, 2015;

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan people, attended the Halifax International Security Forum held in Halifax, Canada from November 20 – 22, a gathering which hosted thinkers, policymakers and practitioners from like-minded nations around the world.

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay at the Halifax International Security Forum
Photo: Tibet.net

During a panel discussion entitled From India to Japan: The Importance of Democratic Asia, hosted by Dr Daniel Twining, Senior Fellow for Asia at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and attended by democracy experts and prominent leaders from Asia, Sikyong spoke on the universality of democracy and China being “the new frontier”. He emphasised the need for like-minded political constructs in Asia to cooperate for a common objective of freedom and mutual respect. However, the Central Tibetan Administration reports on their website that this panel was off the record and there are no pictures or record of the discussion.

The three-day forum hosted around 300 world leaders and security experts from 60 different countries. Participants included Mohammed Abulahoum, head of the Justice and Building Party, Yemen; General John Allen, Centre for 21st Century Security; NATO generals; high ranking military officials from the Asia-Indo Pacific region and government ministers including United States Senators Tim Kaine and John Barrasso. The conference is held annually and usually covers a broad range of international conflicts; this year’s forum deliberated on a wide range of issues from taking the fight to Daesh on the ground and on the web, to Russia’s and China’s growing military aggression, and the need for the world to accept its collective responsibility to welcome refugees fleeing conflict zones.

The Halifax International Security Forum (also known as the Halifax Forum or HISF) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organisation headquartered in Washington, DC. It acts as a forum and network opportunity for international government and military officials, academic experts, authors and entrepreneurs to address global security issues. The Forum has been referred to by the media as “The Davos of international Security”. It is the only event of its kind in North America.