Strategic Allied Commander Transformation’s annual Strategic Military Partner Conference (SMPC) will be held on 14–16 June 2010 at the Hilton Kalastajatorppa Hotel, Helsinki. The conference attendees will include the Chiefs of Defence of most NATO, Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Nations and eight selected Contact Countries as well as important military leadership such as the Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Italian Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, the Chairman of the European Union’s Military Committee, Swedish General Håkan Syrén, as well as the host of this event, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, French Air Force, General Stéphane Abrial.

In 2009, when Allied Command Transformation requested NATO and Partner Nations to provide Host Nation support for this strategic level event, Finland offered for 2010 and was selected shortly after. Previous events were conducted in 2006 at Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, 2007 at Tromsø, Norway and 2008 in Tirana, Albania. This year the Host Nation is represented by the Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Ari Puheloinen.

Nato is in the process of developing a new Strategic Concept that will enable the Alliance to address future security challenges. Knowing that even a regional crisis is very likely to have significant global impact, Strategic Allied Commander Transformation, General Stéphane Abrial, requested NATO’s strategic and operational Partners to contribute to the development process by providing national and especially partner insights on potential, resulting military implications. His goal is to provide the best possible military advice to NATO’s Secretary General.

The SMPC will provide a unique opportunity for this strategic level target audience for open discussion and dialogue on specific strategic issues important to both NATO and its Partners.