Press Release

On September 6-7, 2016, The McCain Institute for International Leadership and the Economic Policy Research Center
(EPRC) will host an international conference in Tbilisi, Georgia: Europe's Changing Geostrategic Landscape after the
Warsaw Summit. The two-day conference will take place at the Tbilisi Rooms Hotel.
The McCain Institute for International Leadership will be represented by Executive Director Hon. Kurt Volker and Senior
Director for Human Rights & Democracy, The Hon. David J. Kramer.
The Tbilisi International Conference provides a unique platform and brings together experienced political and security
leaders from the United States, Western Europe, Georgia and the wider Euro-Atlantic community to discuss the vision of a
Europe whole, free and at peace; the challenges facing Europes eastern nations; and strategies to move forward. The
objective of this years conference, coming a few months after the Warsaw Summit, will be to facilitate input and
participation of the countries most affected by the new realities in Europe; discuss existing and possible implications on
their security, economic and democratic development; and design a vision and strategy for short-, medium-, and long-term
security.
The conference will bring opinion-makers from the United States and Europe to Georgia to discuss global security threats
and challenges, as well as the importance of Euro-Atlantic integration of countries like Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova in
this process. The conference comes at a particularly interesting time a month ahead of Georgias parliamentary
elections..
Some of the issues to be covered during the conference include: strengthening Georgian democracy, EU and U.S. policies
in the region, democracy under attack and outlook for the region, the upcoming presidential elections in the United States,
addressing the Russian threat, a look back on how the Baltic states joined NATO and the EU, and reflections on the recent
NATO Warsaw Summit.
CONFERENCE SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General
Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili
LTG Ben Hodges, U.S. Army Europe Commander
H.E. Ian Kelly U.S. Ambassador to Georgia
H.E. Douglas Lute U.S. Ambassador to NATO
Sir Adam Thomson UK Permanent Representative to NATO
Mustafa Nayyem Ukrainian Rada Member
Mikheil Janelidze - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
Sergii Leashchenko - Ukrainian Rada Member
David Bakradze - Chairman of the Board, United National Movement
Irakli Alasania - Party Leader, Free Democrats
This two-day conference is supported by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Embassy of the United States to Tbilisi
and the NATO's Public Diplomacy Division.
For press inquiries and additional information, contact Nino Evgenidze at nevgenidze@eprc.ge.

About The McCain Institute

Guided by values that have animated the career of Senator John McCain and the McCain family for generations, The
McCain Institute is a non-partisan do-tank dedicated to advancing character-driven global leadership based on security,
economic opportunity, freedom and human dignity in the United States and around the world. The Institute seeks to
promote humanitarian action, human rights and democracy, and national security, and to embrace technology in producing
better designs for educated decisions in national and international policy.
Learn more about The McCain Institute at mccaininstitute.org.