13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues

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From May 27 to 29, 2025, the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu.

More than 129 delegations from 105 countries — members of BRICS, the SCO, ASEAN, the CIS, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the CSTO, and other international organisations — have confirmed their participation in the forum.

The agenda of the meeting of high representatives will focus on matters of international cooperation in the field of security. In particular, discussions will centre around the formation of a new architecture of equal and indivisible security that is fairer and better suited to modern realities.

"The tectonic shifts in foreign policy and international economic relations generate both challenges and opportunities for the countries of the Global South and East. Today’s security challenges and threats are global and transboundary in nature. No modern state can tackle them alone or on a bilateral basis," said Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Sergei Shoigu.

Key topics of the forum will include countering online fraud, ensuring the security of critically important information infrastructure against terrorist attacks and technological sabotage. Challenges and threats in the information space, as well as ways to address them, will be discussed at a dedicated round table by national security advisers and intelligence coordinators from more than 100 countries. This will make it possible, in an atmosphere of trust-based international dialogue involving leading experts, to identify the most pressing issues in the field of information security.

As part of the event, a scientific seminar on global security issues will take place on the sidelines of the meeting of high representatives. For the first time, it will be organised by the Office of the Security Council of Russia with the active participation of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. More than 100 foreign delegations will take part in the seminar. The process of developing key foreign policy decisions related to international security and state sovereignty is necessarily based on scientifically grounded concepts and approaches, as well as scenarios and forecasts of future developments.

African countries have shown strong interest in the meeting. Forty-five delegations from over 40 countries and several international organisations of the African continent, including the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), have confirmed their participation in the forum. Large-scale geopolitical changes have directly affected the interests of the countries of the Global South and East. The voice of African nations — striving to pursue foreign policy in the interests of their own peoples and determined to defend their right to freely choose their development path — is being heard ever more clearly. Russia has always supported its African partners in defending their sovereignty, national interests, and rightful place in the system of international relations. Ways to further deepen relations between Russia and African states, especially in the context of the decisions of the previous Russia–Africa summits, will be discussed during a dedicated briefing on the sidelines of the meeting.

On the eve of the forum's opening, Sergei Shoigu will meet with his counterpart — the overseer of Chinese intelligence services, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chen Wenqing. This will be the tenth consultation on public security, justice, and law and order held within the framework of the cooperation mechanism with the Chinese side. The previous round took place in Beijing in November 2024.

The continued strengthening of cooperation between the security and law enforcement agencies of Russia and China is an important element in implementing the agreements reached by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.

Sergei Shoigu and Chen Wenqing will also tour the expositions displayed at the National Centre RUSSIA as part of the event, including those dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the crimes committed by the Kyiv regime during the Special Military Operation in Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the forum, the heads of delegations from ASEAN member states will gather for an informal meeting for the fifth time. The event will take place at the National Centre RUSSIA.

"Countries in the region do not wish to become an arena for confrontation between great powers and are keen to actively participate in the development of a system of equal and indivisible security. Southeast Asian states look forward to further deepening cooperation with Russia on a broad range of security issues," stated the press service of the Office of the Security Council of Russia.

The agenda of the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues also includes informal meetings of delegations from BRICS, the SCO, and the CIS. Contemporary security challenges and threats are global and transboundary in nature. No modern state can address them alone or through bilateral efforts. In recent years, organisations and alliances involving countries of the Global South and East have been gaining increasing credibility. For the first time, representatives of the new Kabul authorities will participate in the event.

The Security Council of the Russian Federation has been organising the annual International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues since 2010. The forum serves as an important international platform for exchanging views on all matters related to global security and for enhancing cooperation between partner countries in the fight against international terrorism, extremism, transnational crime, illicit drug trafficking, as well as new challenges and threats.