NEWPORT, WALES – NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will deliver the opening keynote address at the Atlantic Council’s Future Leaders Summit at Celtic Manor in Wales on September 4. He will preview the official NATO Summit agenda. The Future Leaders Summit is the premier public diplomacy event alongside the NATO Summit in Wales, and the Secretary General’s speech to young professionals comes shortly before he hosts leaders from sixty countries to engage in key discussions related to the impact of major global security challenges ranging from Syria to Afghanistan to Ukraine.

Representing thirty-four countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia, the Future Leaders Summit delegates are CEOs and entrepreneurs, civil society leaders, parliamentary staff, senior government advisors, diplomats, and military personnel and veterans. They were selected following a competitive application process and will be granted exclusive access to high-level leaders at the NATO Summit site. See the full list of delegates here.

In addition to Secretary General Rasmussen’s speech, the delegates will also hear from Deputy Prime Minister of the UK and Lord President of the Council Nick Clegg, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Jean-Paul Palomeros, Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Philip M. Breedlove, Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Borge Brende, and Montenegrin Minister of Defense Milica Pejanović-Djurišić, among other leaders. View the full agenda here.

The Future Leaders Summit is on the record and open for press coverage by NATO Summit-accredited media, but space is limited. Email press@AtlanticCouncil.org to reserve your spot at the Celtic Manor or to request more information.

Follow the delegates on Twitter with #FutureNATO.

Building on successful emerging leaders events that the Atlantic Council has organized at five past NATO Summits, the Future Leaders Summit opens the high-level discussions in Wales to the next generation of Alliance leaders. The Future Leaders Summit is organized in partnership with the Atlantic Treaty Association and the Atlantic Council of the United Kingdom, and is generously supported by Robert J. Abernethy, NATO, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Allied Command Transformation, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Washington, DC, Airbus Group, The Scowcroft Group, US Mission to NATO, and Julie Finley.