On December 10-11 GFSIS and the Centre for European and North-Atlantic Affairs (CENAA), with financial support of the International Višegrad Fund, organized a two-day conference on the topic of Security Sector Reform in the South Caucasus and the Black Sea Region following the Vilnius Summit. 

The First South Caucasus Security Forum was organized in cooperation with leading think-tanks from Central Europe and South Caucasian countries:  Institute of International Relations (Czech Republic), Polish Institute of International Affairs (Poland), Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (Hungary), Centre for Strategic Analysis, SPECTRUM (Armenia) and Centre for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan).   

The audience, consisting of key decision-makers, embassies, academics, think-tank and media representatives, experts from the South Caucasus and other countries as well as international organisations, gathered to discuss the most challenging issues related to the broader region and Security Sector Reform.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Alex Petriashvili, State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Georgia; Major-General Vakhtang Kapanadze, Chief of the General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence of Georgia, and H.E. Thrasyvoulos Terry Stamatopoulos, NATO´s Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy. 

The forum included up to 30 speakers and moderators from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the US and Slovakia. 

Panel discussions were as follows:  

• Perspectives for the South Caucasus after the Vilnius Summit

• Different Integration Ambitions and Visions of South Caucasian Countries – A Clash of Concepts or Searching for Synergy? 

• The Black Sea Region:  Theoretical Concept or Geopolitical Reality? 

• External Actors in the South Caucasus:  The USA, Russia, Turkey, the European Union, NATO and the OSCE 

• Security Sector Reform in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova:  Main Challenges and Opportunities 

South Caucasus Security Forum 2013