The Eighth International Conference on Northeast Asian Security “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue” was organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the Institute for Strategic Studies of Mongolia on 15–16 June 2023. This year the dialogue welcomed speakers and participants from around 30 countries and more than 10 international organizations. The conference attended by more than 180 international and national delegates and representatives of the government entities, international organizations and academia.

The dialogue consisted of five main sessions. The participants discussed security challenges and opportunities in the region during the first session. The following session was focused on multilateral cooperation by sharing insights from regional countries as well as some comparative insights from Kazakhstan, Turkey, France and Poland. The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs jointly organized the third session by providing a platform for young representatives to share their views and recommendations on regional peace and security issues.

Last two sessions were jointly organized with the Business Council of Mongolia and the United Nations Social and Economic Commission for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP). Economists and policy practitioners discussed economic cooperation, particularly in the post COVID period and heightened geopolitical tensions during the session. The UNESCAP session mainly focused on the power grid connectivity for the energy transition in Northeast Asia and global and regional experts exchanged their views on the development of the “Green Power Corridor Roadmap”.

There were high level participants including Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Seyfullah Hacımüftüoğlu, Secretary-General of the National Security Council of the Republic Türkiye and Mr. Kim Gunn, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Andrew Arveseth, Director for Korea and Mongolia of the U.S. National Security Council, and new participants from Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Philippines and Vietnam in the conference.

One new addition to this year’s Ulaanbaatar Dialogue is the “UBD Youth Forum” which was organized on 17 June 2023 to welcome young professionals to join in the UBD and also organize a separate, follow-up workshop.