Representatives from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly visited University of Glasgow today (Friday 30 November) as part of a fact-finding trip to the UK.

Members of the Assembly’s Science and Technology Committee (STC)  met with academics to discuss the world-leading research of the University’s Glasgow Global Security Network (GGSN) on risk and resilience management, global security and climate change.

The STC considers the implications of developments in science and technology on military and civil security along with international environmental issues. The GGSN, formed in 2010, brings together leading academics with a wide range of expertise from across the University to collaborate on security-focused research projects.

The group of seven parliamentarians from six NATO member states was headed by Philippe Vitel, a member of the French National Assembly and chairperson of the STC’s Sub-Committee on Energy and Environmental Security. The delegation heard presentations from Professor Denis Fischbacher-Smith of the Adam Smith Business School, Professor Andrew Hoskins of the College of Social Sciences, Dr Paul Routledge of the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences and Dr Phillips O’Brien from the School of Humanities.

The event was hosted by the University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Anton Muscatelli and Senior Vice-Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrea Nolan.

Professor Muscatelli said: “We are proud that the cross-discliplinary work of the GGSN has been recognised by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly just two years after the Network’s formation.

“We were pleased to meet with the Assembly to discuss our work on globally-significant issues and how we could contribute to NATO’s security-related projects in the future.

“We hope that this initial meeting will lead to enduring links between the University and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.”

The representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly also held meetings in the British Parliament in London and visited BAE Systems’ shipyards in Glasgow, where they toured the UK’s new aircraft carriers currently under construction.

Phillippe Vitel, leader of the NATO delegation, expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality and for the quality of the briefings provided by the University of Glasgow. He said: "Safeguarding security in a world of proliferating non-traditional threats and risks requires a multi-sectoral approach. I am very pleased and impressed that the Glasgow Global Security Network executes this work so well, delivering advice which Parliamentarians can use in their work."

Glasgow Global Security Network: http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/globalsecurity/

First published: 30 November 2012

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