Politicians and experts from around the world gather in the Slovenian city of Bled for the annual strategic forum, which takes place on September 2 and 3.
Forum Secretary General Peter Gerk said this year's theme, "A World of Parallel Realities," reflected the need to find ways to bridge geopolitical and social divides.
"As individuals, as countries, we are increasingly drifting apart from each other, losing the common points, the smallest common denominators that would take us forward as a society to a world that would be more stable, more peaceful and the most already more sustainable," explained Gerk in an interview with the Slovenian Press Agency. He hopes the event will contribute to dialogue and raise awareness of the need to find ways to overcome differences.
180 representatives from 48 countries will participate in the forum, including Balkan leaders such as Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania, Andrej Plenković of Croatia, Milos Vucevic of Serbia and Milojko Spajić of Montenegro.
This year's event is special because Slovenia will take over the presidency of the UN Security Council for a month as a non-permanent member.
At the forum, acute issues such as the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as climate change, will be discussed. Gerk noted that the international community is preoccupied with pressing challenges that must be resolved as soon as possible.
During the first day of the event, emphasis will be placed on the future of the European Union, and one of the speakers will be the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
On the same day, a panel dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its wider impact will be opened, with the presentation of the Forum's Honorary Partner Award to Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Russian opposition activist and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov will also speak at the event.
The third part of the day will be devoted to the Middle East and the war in Gaza.
Other topics include EU enlargement, the US presidential election, cyber security, the fight against disinformation, energy security, the green transition and water security.
"I believe that this year we are showing the breadth of Slovenian foreign policy. We are showing that, in fact, even as a small country, we can have a significant impact on the development of the international community," said the Greek before the start of Slovenia's biggest foreign policy event. | BGNES
