Safety and security were big on everybody’s agenda in Kouvola in September. Kouvola Security Conference – now organized for the fifth time – brought together decision-makers and experts from various organizations, all sharing a keen interest in issues relating to security.
The lively discussions held at the Kouvola City Hall highlighted total security, sec tech, artificial intelligence and Finland’s security of supply. Kouvola Mayor Marita Toikka noted in her welcoming remarks that developing the security of supply in Finland is of key importance – and that Kouvola is the number one place in the entire country to do it.
“Kouvola keeps Finland safe,” the Mayor promised. Toikka also reminded that Kouvola is, among other things, Finland’s largest garrison town.
General (Ret.) Philip M. Breedlove recounted in his keynote speech how the West has time and again rewarded Putin’s bad behavior with concessions – or telling silence. The former commander of NATO’s forces in Europe pointed out that this operating model is a very bad fit when raising children or dealing with dictators.
Eye on deterrents
According to Breedlove, when NATO says it will defend every square inch of its territory, Putin reads between the lines that everyone else is fair game. “We need to reimagine conventional deterrents,” Breedlove said.
The American general also had a clear view of Finland and Sweden joining NATO: especially Finland joining the military alliance felt like Christmas Eve.
“When the Finnish flag was hoisted in front of the NATO headquarters, NATO’s capabilities leaped to a new level,” Breedlove marveled.
Slava Ukraini!
Certainly the most emotional presentation of the conference came from the Ambassador of Ukraine to Finland, Olga Dibrova, who told the seminar guests about the ugly reality of the war in Ukraine. Dibrova also outlined Ukraine’s goals: keeping her territory intact, joining NATO and the EU, and seeing war criminals brought to justice.
“We have to be strong so that we can force Russia to seek peace,” stated Dibrova, citing the importance of continued support from Western countries. “Military aid is also the fastest way to drive the Russians away.”
Stay in the race
Around noon, the conference crowd was treated to four interesting theme discussions. The highly-expected ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ theme discussion addressed the pressing challenge of European arms production. Patria’s CEO Esa Rautalinko posed the question: can the Europeans keep up with Russia in the arms race?
“There is currently not enough volume in military equipment production. Also, the field of weapons systems in Europe is too fragmented”, stated Rautalinko, calling for integration and standardization.
Perhaps the most renown speaker of the theme discussions was General (Ret.) Sir Richard Shirreff,former Deputy Commander of NATO’s European Forces. According to Shirreff, Russia has empire-building in its DNA, and the country is not about to change any time soon, be it with or without Putin.
“We must recognize that we are at war, and there is no going back.”
Stop Russia now
According to the British general, Russia must be stopped cold in Ukraine, or, sooner or later, the Baltic countries, Finland and Poland will be in Putin’s sights.
“Russia has the mathematics on its side,” Shirreff stated, referring to the country’s vast energy and material resources.
However, Shirreff saw some positive signs, too. One of these is definitely Finland joining NATO in 2023. “Finland’s resilience is better than anybody’s,” he said.
Another theme discussion covered the lessons from recent crises, asking how can one build a truly secure supply chain in Finland. The discussion participants underlined the importance of preparation in all possible ways – even when the threats in question are yet to take shape.
“Strengthening resilience prepares us for many different threats,” summed up Engineer Colonel Jaakko Jurvelin.
Mind control & war games
In the third discussion, the theme was ‘The fight over peoples’ minds,’ offering insights into building resilience in the age of disinformation.
“We must combat disinformation not so much with technology, but with actions,” said Veera Heinonen from the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.
And finally, for a more hands-on presentation, consultant agency Accenture put together a three-screenlive demo on Common Synthetic Environment. The war room exercise focused on Capability Development in Multi-Domain Operations (MDO).
Kouvola momentum going strong
Giving the closing remarks for the Conference, Paula Werning, MP and Chairman of the Kouvola City Council, reiterated that Kouvola is truly the center for security of supply for all of Finland.
“During the age of Nato and DCA, the geopolitical position and status of Kouvola is greater than ever,” she added.
Watch program here: City of Kouvola YouTube or Yle Areena.