Munich, Germany, 16 February 2026 - At the 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) delivered a clear message: there is no security without development.
This is particularly evident in relation to food security, which was highlighted as an essential element of stability, resilience and regional security. In this context, UNIDO, together with the World Food Programme (WFP), convened a high-level multilateral MSC event titled: “Making Food Systems Crisis Proof: Building Food Security Belts in Volatile Regions”. The event brought together senior participants including Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ertharin Cousin, Member of the Supervisory Board of Bayer and former Executive President of the WFP, and Raj Kumar, President & Editor-in-Chief at Devex.
In his opening remarks, UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller referred to findings from a joint study with the FAO: “The cost to create a world without hunger is an additional investments of fifty billion US dollars annually over the next ten years. At the same time, global military spending stands at USD 2.7 trillion and continues to increase. Ending hunger would require just 2 percent of global military spending.”
He emphasized, Member States must live up to their commitments – including the 0.7% target for development cooperation, to build a more secure world: “Hunger is not only a humanitarian tragedy but also a direct security risk. When supply chains break down, societies become unstable. Prices rise, livelihoods collapse, and conflicts intensify. To break this cycle, we need to move from reactive emergency delivery to shock-resilient food systems.”
At events hosted by the International Organization for Migration, Bayer AG, and others, UNIDO presented the concept of food security belts – strengthening neighbouring regions of crisis-affected areas as production and logistics hubs. By investing in agro-processing, storage, trade corridors and resilient value chains, such hubs create jobs, generate income and strengthen resilience. Cooperation in West Africa, as well as UNIDO’s Industrial Recovery Programmes in Syria, Sudan and Palestine, provide a foundation for new alliances, positioning the private sector as a strategic partner for local production, SME integration and long-term stability.
On the margins of the MSC 2026, DG Müller held several bilateral talks, including with Reem Alabali-Radovan, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Discussions focused on expanding industrial recovery efforts from Ukraine to Palestine, Syria and Sudan, responsible critical mineral supply chains and developing a “Blue Button” for sustainable production, cooperating with Germany’s Green Button.
In the bilateral meeting between DG Müller and Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration of Togo, discussions centered on enhanced cooperation, SME development and regional economic integration in West Africa.
Ahead of the conference, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, former German Defense Minister; Moritz Schularick, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy; and Director General Gerd Müller issued a joint appeal calling for development policy to be an integral pillar of security policy. “If you want security, you also have to invest in development. Where people go hungry and have no prospects, conflicts spread.”
Referring to the “triad of defence, diplomacy and development,” the authors emphasized that the choice is not between defence and development. Lasting stability requires both. The appeal received broad media coverage and concluded with a powerful reminder: security without development is incomplete.
UNIDO’s ITPO Berlin also engaged at MSC with business partners such as the Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM) network and the Fraunhofer Society to advance strategic matchmaking and new partnerships. The meetings focused on strengthening women-led enterprises and entrepreneurship networks, innovation scouting and the global scaling of applied research. Further cooperation is planned for the 2026 edition of the ONE WORLD Sustainability Awards.
For more information, please contact:
Head of ITPO Berlin, UNIDO