EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini attended World Economic Forum in Davos seeking attention for her Syria initiative and EU defence cooperation.
Mogherini took part in panels on the ‘Responsible leadership in a multipolar world’, and on ‘Promoting stability in the Middle East‘, and in a public discussion with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on ‘Redefining Europe’s Security Agenda’.

“Security is a priority for the EU,” she said. “We have hard and soft power. We have done more on defence in the last seven months than in decades.”

Building on the ideas in her Global Strategy for EU Foreign and Security Policy, Mogherini has illustrated the European Union’s three-pronged set of measures to strengthen the EU’s security and defence capability.

“In a reshaping world, the only way for the Europeans to be global players is through the EU”, – said Mogherini,  highlighting the added value of EU membership.

Among a number of meetings she held, the HR met Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, the new Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al Safadi, and the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura.

The Syria initiative, launched late last year, aims to identify with regional partners common ground on the post-conflict arrangements for Syria and examine the scope for reconciliation and reconstruction once a credible political transition is firmly under way. The conference is foreseen to be organised in coming months in Brussels.

The forum in Davos was the chance also for a long meeting with the President of the Swiss confederation Didier Burkhalter.