WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) will join a bipartisan group of senators in attending the Halifax International Security forum (HFX) this weekend in Nova Scotia, Canada. Cramer is the chair of the Airland Subcommittee on the Senate Armed Services Committee and is the Republican lead on both the American Canadian Economy and Security Caucus and the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group.
The forum provides an opportunity to showcase the United States’ commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the U.S.-Canada partnership, and the shared security challenges with allies around the world. The U.S. has traditionally provided the largest portion of NATO’s military strength, but global peace is going to depend on our allies building up their military strength to meet the growing threats in their regions and across the globe.
This year’s agenda centers around the shared belief democracies are resilient on their own, but together they are unbreakable. Peter Van Praagh, HFX President, said the program declares “only democracies can create the environment in which individuals feel safe to question established ideas, leading in turn to inventions that secure the future.” As part of the forum, Cramer will participate in a panel titled, “Democracies Demand Decency – How Democracies Decide Destiny.”
“It’s an honor to join my colleagues as part of this bipartisan delegation to Nova Scotia for the Halifax International Security Forum,” said Cramer. “Events like this are a powerful reminder of why democracies are worth defending because they are a better form of government than tyranny. I look forward to learning from defense leaders and leading a panel to highlight democracy’s role in determining a nation’s future.”
The panel will take place at 8:00 a.m. CT / 9:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 23. It will be live streamed on the HFX website as well as its YouTube channel.
Global defense leaders gather each year at the forum to gain innovative insights into the nation’s security landscape and engage in a wide range of informational sessions covering paramount topics such as energy demands, disinformation, global security, defense technologies, democratic resilience, and food security. More than 80 countries are represented at the annual event.
While in Halifax, the delegation of senators is expected to meet with key defense leaders from across the globe, including Minister of Defense of Colombia Pedro Sanchez-Suarez, Minister of National Defense of Canada David McGuinty, European Union Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, and more.