At the opening of the session, the participants will be addressed by NATO PA President, US Congressman Gerald Connolly, Head of the Swedish Delegation to the NATO PA Karin Enstrom and Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvist.

NATO PA President Connolly emphasised the importance of the fight for the preservation of democratic values, especially having in mind the growing aspiration of authoritarian states to promote alternative models of government. He expressed the expectation that at the NATO summit, to be held on 14 June 2021, the heads of member states would decide to revise the Strategic Concept, which would strengthen NATO primarily politically - by defending common democratic values from internal and external threats, enabling the military alliance to continue to play a key role in global security after more than 70 years. In that context, he also proposed the establishment of a NATO Centre for Democratic Resilience and called on the member states to pursue an "open door" policy to the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine.

In the context of the illegal annexation of Crimea, Swedish Defence Minister Hultqvist pointed out that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states is not a negotiable issue. He pointed out that the Alliance must respond to the "continuous Russian provocations by demonstrating unity and common goals," and that "it must face the challenges posed by China's rise with a common voice."

The Head of the Swedish Delegation to the NATO PA said that the current security threats are much more diverse and difficult to identify which calls for a stronger international cooperation and focusing on the Alliance’s common values.