ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Prominent Kurdish political leaders, including Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader Mazloum Abdi, and foreign relations co-chair of the Kurdish-led Rojava (northeast Syria) administration Elham Ahmed, are set to participate in the high-level Munich Security Conference that kicks off on Friday, with recent regional instability likely to be a hot topic at the international security forum.

Held between February 13 and 15 in the eponymous southern German city with the theme of "Under Destruction," the Munich Security Conference serves as a forum for international leaders to gather and discuss the current state of global security affairs.

"With longstanding alliances called into question, the rules-based international order eroding, and mounting instability and escalating conflicts across the globe, this year’s Munich Security Conference takes place at a fundamental inflection point," the forum writes of its 2026 edition on its official website.

Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday arrived in Munich ahead of the proceedings, with the Kurdistan Region Presidency announcing that he is "expected to hold a series of meetings with senior leaders and officials to discuss the political and security landscape in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as well as broader regional developments."

SDF chief Abdi and Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) co-chair Ahmed will also be attending the conference, a source within the Kurdish-led administration told The New Region, though the precise details of when the former will arrive remain unclear.

The Kurdish officials' attendance comes after the reaching of a landmark integration agreement between the SDF and the Damascus government in late January following the latter's sweeping military offensive in Rojava, which has seen the deployment of Syrian state forces in Kurdish-majority areas, provisions for the integration of the Rojava administration into the Syrian government, and the recognition of Kurdish linguistic and cultural rights by Damascus.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has also traveled to Munich for the event, with the top diplomat on Thursday reopening the Syrian consulate in Bonn ahead of the proceedings.

The presence of both Shaibani and the Kurdish officials raises the prospect of a meeting between the two camps during the event, which could further develop the burgeoning integration process and the often fraught relationship between Damascus and the Rojava administration.

Also present in Munich is Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, with the foreign ministry on Thursday saying that "the minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference to discuss the latest regional and international developments and to enhance cooperation in the areas of security and stability, in line with Iraq’s vision of supporting political solutions and consolidating international partnerships to confront common challenges."

Held annually since 1963, the conference will take place at the Bayrischer Hof hotel in central Munich.