Economic Security Taskforce Meeting 3: Focus on Partnership

The consensus from prior Taskforce meetings was clear – the success or failure of economic security strategies will largely depend on strategic alignment between the public and private sectors, which necessarily requires the private sector to be meaningfully engaged as an active partner. However, at present, the relationship between the sectors on economic security issues remains disjointed.

Businesses are on the front line of economic warfare, yet are often frustrated by inconsistent regulatory requirements, limited communication from governments and insufficient consultation on policies that significantly affect their operations.

Conversely, policymakers must develop cross-cutting economic security strategies while having limited visibility into supply chain vulnerabilities, restricted access to commercially sensitive data and dealing with businesses that prioritise profit above security.

This latest report from RUSI Economic Security Taskforce, based on a recent workshop in Copenhagen that convened two dozen participants from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DG TRADE and key actors from Denmark’s private sector – spanning transport, shipping and logistics, supply chain services, power cables, wind power, mining technology and defence, among others, considers how governments can best engage their private sectors in meeting national and regional economic security ambitions.