German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle welcomes NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for bilateral talks at last year's Munich Security Conference Revolt in Egypt and the implications for the Middle East are set to be key talking points for top defence officials at this year's conference. 

The three-day annual get-together of ministers, top military brass, national security advisors and experts will also tackle hot-button issues like Iran, Afghanistan, the rise of China, NATO-Russia relations and disarmament.

Other topics for the 750 participants, who will include US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor Angela Merkel, will be cyberwarfare and challenges posed by cuts in defence spending.

On the British side, PM Cameron will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, Defence Secretary Liam Fox and British Ambassador in Berlin, Simon McDonald.

Over the past decades, the Munich Security Conference has become the major security policy conference worldwide. Each year it brings together senior figures from around the world to engage in an intensive debate on current and future security challenges. The aim behind the conference is to ensure it remains an independent forum for the exchange of views by international security policy decision-makers.