We were delighted to have as our Special Guest Mr. Iulian Chifu, Romania’s former State Secretary on Foreign Relations, Security and Strategic Affairs for the Prime Minister of Romania (2021-2023) in our NSSG Talks of September episode.
Mr. Chifu discussed Romania’s strategic role in the Black Sea region and how this region has become a global focal point since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a member of the EU and NATO, Romania plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenges and opportunities arising from these developments. In light of the war, Bucharest has been forced to shift its security strategy.
“Since the 24th of February 2022, we are facing the coming back of the war as an instrument of foreign policy and for solving some levels of ambition and why not, some internal problems for a certain actor, meaning Putin’s Russia and this comes with a number of dramatic changes at the level of the security environment.”, was the key idea underlined by Mr. Chifu.
As for the lessons we’ve learned from this major event impacting Europe, Mr. Chifu went on to say: “When we talk about probability scenarios, I think that that is the most important lesson learned,[…]we’ve learned the hard way that you cannot rule out any scenario.”
Concerning the private entities and how they can better react to such events, Mr. Chifu touched upon the tail risks of today’s war, such as propaganda and fake news and advised organisations to educate their employees on this matter. “The first and most important part is to convey to all employees and people that information comes from authorised sources. You need to pick your sources from public sources and authorised sources, governmental sources and not from gossip, friends, Facebook or the propaganda warfare that is projected.”
Our NSSG Talks focused on these critical developments and what this means for regional geopolitical and geo-economic interests. If you missed our NSSG Talks LIVE, you can watch the recording on our YouTube Channel.
Prof. Dr. Iulian Chifu
Mr. Iulian Chifu is former State Secretary on Foreign Relations, Security and Strategic Affairs for the Prime Minister of Romania (2021-2023) and the founder of the Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Center, in Bucharest. His expertise includes conflict analysis, crisis decision making and the post-Soviet Space.
Associated professor at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies Bucharest (SNSPA), Mr Chifu has published more than thirty books on conflicts, crisis and energy security and numerous articles in reviews, journals and newspapers in Romania and abroad.
Iulian Chifu is a member of the board of the Center for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at King’s College London, UK, and also a member of the International Advisory Committee, Journal CBRNE-Terrorism-Newsletter, Athens, Greece.
Prior positions include presidential Counselor for Strategic Affairs and International Security of the Romanian President (2011-2014), and advisor for Foreign Policy, Security and Defense of the Vice-President of the Romanian Senate (2006-2011).
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