2021
Aspen Security Forum
August 3-4, 2021 | Virtual
2021 Agenda
View the Full Agenda
Day 1: August 3, 2021
8:00 – 8:10 AM Welcome Remarks
- Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
8:10 – 9:00 AM The View from Singapore
- Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore
- Moderator: Evan Osnos, Contributor, The New Yorker
- Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
9:00 – 9:30 AM Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe
- Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution
- Moderator: Gillian Tett, Chair, Editorial Board, and U.S. Editor-at-Large, The Financial Times
- Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
9:30 – 10:45 AM Quint, Sext, or Bust: The Future of the Quad
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Michèle Flournoy, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
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Julie Bishop, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia
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C. Raja Mohan, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
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Tomiko Ichikawa, Director General, Japan Institute of International Affairs
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Moderator: David Ignatius, Associate Editor and Columnist, The Washington Post
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Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
10:45 – 11:15 AM A Conversation with Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
- Zalmay Khalilzad, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation
- Moderator: Amna Nawaz, Chief Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
- Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM Two Decades On: Lessons from Afghanistan
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David Petraeus, Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency
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Roya Rahmani, Former Ambassador of Afghanistan to the U.S.
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P. Michael McKinley, Former Ambassador of the U.S. to Afghanistan
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Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard University
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Moderator: Amna Nawaz, Chief Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
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Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
12:15 – 1:15 PM
The View from the SEC: Cryptocurrencies and National Security
Speaker: Gary Gensler, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
Moderator: Paul Vigna, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
1:15 – 1:45 PM
The View from Riyadh
Speaker: HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud,
Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia
Moderator: Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
2:15 – 3:15 PM
A Future Made in America? The Biden Administration’s Trade Agenda
Speakers:
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Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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Mike Froman, former U.S. Trade Representative
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Susan Schwab, former U.S. Trade Representative
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Robert Zoellick, former President, World Bank and former U.S. Trade Representative
Moderator: Shawn Donnan, Senior Writer, Bloomberg
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
3:15 – 3:45 PM
The View from Seoul: A Conversation with President Song
Speakers: Song Young-gil, President of the Democratic Party of Korea
Moderator: Josh Rogin, Columnist, The Washington Post
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
3:45 – 3:50 PM
Closing Remarks
Speaker: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
Day 2: August 4, 2021
8:45 – 8:50 AM
Welcome Remarks
Speaker: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
8:50 – 9:30 AM
The View from the AIIB
Speaker: Jin Liqun, President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Moderator: David Barboza, Co-Founder and Staff Writer, The Wire
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
9:30 – 10:15 AM
Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Promise and Peril of Cryptocurrency
Speakers:
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Stuart Levey, CEO, Diem Association
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Brad Garlinghouse, CEO, Ripple
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Sigal Mandelker, former Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Moderator: Paul Vigna, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
10:15 – 11:00 AM
The View from the NSC: A Conversation with White House Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger
Speaker: Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies
Moderator: David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent, The New York Times
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
11:00 – 11:45 AM
Standing Together: Protecting Global Cyber Networks through Public – Private Partnerships
Speakers:
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Ron Green, CSO, Mastercard
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Robert Hannigan, former Director, GCHQ
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Tucker Bailey, Partner and Cybersecurity Practice Leader, McKinsey & Company
Moderator: David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent, The New York Times
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
Not Your Father’s Space Race: UFOs, Billionaires, and Satellite Missiles
Speakers:
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Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, Cambridge University
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Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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Kerry Buckley, Vice President, Air and Space Forces, MITRE National Security Sector
Moderator: Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor, Ars Technica
Introduced by: Niamh King, Deputy Director, the Aspen Strategy Group
12:15 – 12:45 PM
The View from Edinburgh
Speaker: Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister of Scotland
Moderator: Mary Louise Kelly, Co-Host, All Things Considered, NPR
Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
12:45 – 1:15 PM
The View from the Eurogroup
Speaker: Paschal Donohoe, President, The Eurogroup
Moderator: Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
1:15 – 2:00 PM
Mind the Gap: A Transatlantic Strategy to Counter China
Speakers:
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Joseph Nye, Dean Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy School
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Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman, Munich Security Conference
Moderator: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
2:00 – 2:30 PM
The View from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Speaker: John Aquilino, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Moderator: David Ignatius, The Washington Post
Introduced by: Anja Manuel, Director, Aspen Strategy Group
2:30 – 3:15 PM
Silk Road to Global Highway: China’s Rising Global Influence
Speakers:
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Elizabeth Economy, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
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Susan Shirk, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (East Asian Bureau)
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Stephen Biegun, former Deputy Secretary of State
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Matt Pottinger, former Deputy National Security Advisor
Moderator: Joseph Nye, Dean Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy School
Introduced by: Niamh King, Deputy Director, Aspen Strategy Group
3:15 – 3:45 PM
The Road to COP26
Speaker: Alok Sharma, President, COP26
Moderator: Al Roker, Co-Host, the Today Show
Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
3:45 – 4:00 PM
A Conversation with Senator Lisa Murkowski
Speaker: Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator from Alaska
Moderator: Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent, The New York Times
Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
4:00 – 4:15 PM
Conversation with Senator Dan Sullivan
Speaker: Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator from Alaska
Moderator: Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent, The New York Times
Introduced by: Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
4:15 – 4:20 PM
Closing Remarks
Speakers:
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Nicholas Burns, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group
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