World leaders address security conference in Munich

Feb 5, 2011, 12:43 GMT

   Munich - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were among the prominent guests due to debate global security at a conference in Munich on Saturday.

This year's edition of the Munich Security Conference has been overshadowed by the turmoil in Egypt, a topic which has featured prominently on the agenda in the southern German city since the start of the meeting Friday.

On Saturday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened a discussion on transatlantic security by referring to the protests in the Arab world, which he said were driven by 'human insecurity' and 'poverty' but also 'corruption' and a 'deficit of democracy.'

The head of the United Nations said world powers should step up their efforts at 'preventive diplomacy' rather than wait for crises to unfold.

On Friday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that the turmoil in the Arab world risked destabilizing the global order as he urged European governments not to slash their defence budgets.

Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron were next in line to talk in Munich on Saturday.

The afternoon was to see a meeting of the so-called Middle East Quartet - which comprises the EU, Russia, the United States and the United Nations - on the sidelines of the conference.

   Also Saturday, Clinton was to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and exchange documents on the newly ratified START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).