This year’s seventh Bled Strategic Forum will be the held from 2 to 3 of September 2012 in Bled, Slovenia.
This annual event will be a meeting of politicians, businessmen and other professionals involved in strategic challenges of the future. Topics at the Forum will be financial crisis, different ways of promoting economic growth, Arab revolutions and developments in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
At the various Forum panels, participants will discuss Europe and new world order, how to move forward in the current economic situation, benefits of cooperation between Europe and China with an aim to promote economic growth, challenges related to the Arab revolutions, developments in Central Asia and Afghanistan after 2014, and the Southeast Europe’s appeal for European Union (EU). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the Forum continued with the already reputable combination of regional and global issues when choosing this year’s Forum topics.
The Bled Strategic Forum will open with the so-called Bled Strategic Forum Young (Young BSF) in which zealous students and promising young professionals from diplomatic and academic field will discuss youth unemployment, changes in the Mediterranean following the Arab Spring and possible new approaches for the EU’s southern neighbors.
New at this year’s Bled Strategic Forum, which is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for European Perspective, will be the Business Forum which will be organized in cooperation with the Bled School of Management. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the focus of discussion will be sustainable development and possible new approaches to the challenges EU is currently facing by looking at Europe’s hidden economic advantages.
Among others, the organizers of the Forum have invited distinguished speakers including the president of the Czech Republic Peter Nečas, president of the Albania Sali Berisha and president of the Kosovo Hashim Thaci.
Foreign ministers of Slovakia, Jordan, Macedonia, Montenegro and the Palestinian Authority, including the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Lamberto Zannier, Special Representative of the UN in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Suma Chakrabarti, as well as many other representatives of international organizations, businesses, academic institutions and governments across the world have already confirmed their attendance at the Forum.