page_title: Halifax International Security Forum
section_title: 2013 forum
hierarchical_section_title: Halifax International Security Forum / Annual forum / Key themes / 2013 forum
caption_attribution_description: English: Chuck Hagel at the Halifax International Security Forum 2013
context_page_description: Halifax International Security Forum is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a forum and network for international government and military officials, academic experts, authors and entrepreneurs. Halifax Forum addresses global security issues.
  The forum is best known for its annual security summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The meeting brings together more than 300 delegates from over 70 countries and has been referred to by media as "The Davos of international security". This summit is the only event of its kind in North America. The 10th Halifax Forum was held from 16 to 18 November 2018.
context_section_description: Global climate change and its impact on the Arctic were key issues at the 2013 Halifax International Security Forum. In his keynote address, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel illustrated the rapid shift of the polar landscape and its consequences for international security. Hagel then announced the Pentagon’s new Arctic strategy, which for the first time outlined how the US responds to the repercussions of climate change for the Arctic.
  As the shrinking of Arctic ice opens up new waterways and potential energy resources, countries' increased interest in the region could potentially lead to rising international tensions, the Defense Secretary warned. Hagel called for more international cooperation in the Arctic  to protect its environment and to keep it "peaceful, stable and free of conflict". He also emphasized his country's commitment "to detect, deter, prevent and defeat threats to the United States, and continue to exercise US sovereignty in and around Alaska". Speaking at a forum's panel, Rob Nicholson, Canadian Minister of National Defence, welcomed the Pentagon's new Arctic strategy and called it "entirely consistent" with Canada's approach. Nicholson described the Arctic as a "low-tension area" and emphasized Canada's efforts to foster more international cooperation in the region. Just prior to the launch of the 2013 Halifax Forum, Hagel and Nicholson signed the US-Canada Asia-Pacific Framework to increase their security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
  Regarding the forthcoming withdrawal of the last Canadian forces from Afghanistan in March 2014, Minister Nicholson declared that "Canada has made a difference in Afghanistan". The minister also expressed his concerns about Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US. Secretary Hagel emphasized the necessity of a signed and ratified BSA as a precondition for a US military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
  The 2013 Forum's Saturday night reception was interrupted by breaking news of the Geneva interim agreement on Iranian nuclear program and the broadcasting of US President Barack Obama's White House statement. The agreement was also the focus of a Halifax Forum meeting between Secretary Hagel and his Israeli counterpart Moshe Ya'alon.
  During a panel discussion on the responsibility of Western nations to engage globally on political and humanitarian grounds, Liam Fox, former British Secretary of State for Defence, called for a "re-emphasizing" of NATO’s political mission instead of staying focused only on the military side. He recalled that the Cold War was won by the Western allies. "And it was won — not just because we had military superiority or economic superiority — (but because) we had political and moral superiority and we were willing to say, not that we were different, but that we were better. That freedom would be better than oppression. Capitalism would be better than state control", Fox declared. In view of declining international engagement due to economic pressures, he called it an "absurdity" that NATO states were spending more of their GDP on debt interest repayments than on defense.
  Alexander Vershbow, NATO's Deputy Secretary General, stressed the alliance's role as a force for global peace. In order to solve international issues, NATO needs to cooperate with other international organizations, Vershbow declared, also urging more assistance to the Syrian opposition. US Senator John McCain emphasized the importance of establishing humanitarian zones in war-torn countries such as Syria.
  Speaking about international military interventions, Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General Peter MacKay described a kind of fatigue currently present in democratic societies, due to the losses in recent years. As for Canada, MacKay declared the country's willingness to maintain its high international presence moving forward.
caption: US-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at HISF 2013
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