Vienna Economic Forum – Sofia Talks 2018

During the opening, which was moderated by Ambassador Dr. Elena Kirtcheva, Secretary General of Vienna Economic Forum, H.E. Ms. Lilyana Pavlova, Minister of the Bulgarian EU Presidency 2018; H.E. Ms. Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as H.E. Ms. Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, presented interesting insights into the priorities of the Bulgarian Government and the European Commission with regard to the regional economic development of the Western Balkans.

VEF Member of the Board and President of Jackovich International LLC, USA, Ambassador Victor Jackovich moderated the Round Table Discussion: Regional Cooperation as a Part of the European Integration. The Western Balkans: Reality and Expectation-Who Takes Responsibility? Initiated by H.E. Mr. Boyko Borissov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Patron of Vienna Economic Forum, the discussion was enriched by relevant contributions with regional focus by the Members of the Patrons Committee and Patrons of Vienna Economic Forum: H.E. Mr. Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania; H.E. Mr. Ramush Haradinaj, Prime Minister of Kosovo; H.E. Mr. Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of Macedonia and H.E. Mr. Duško Marković, Prime Minister of Montenegro; and H.E. Ms. Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia. True to the motto: “Politics meets Economy”, the Prime Ministers engaged in an in-depth discussion with the Members of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum, who presented investments and future strategies of their companies in the Western Balkans.

The represented VEF Members of the Board were DI Dr. Günther Rabensteiner, Member of the Board of Verbund AG and President of Vienna Economic Forum; DI Peter Umundum, Member of the Board of Österreichische Post AG and Vice-President of Vienna Economic Forum; Dr. Ognian Donev, Chairman of the Board of Directors & Executive Director of Sopharma PLC, Bulgaria, and Vice-President of Vienna Economic Forum; Mr. Alejandro Plater, CEO and COO of A1 Telekom Austria Group; Mr. Emmanuel Forest, CEO of Bouygues Europe SA, Belgium, and Mag. Heinz Messinger, Managing Director of AME International. Mr. Rocco Luigi Bubbico, PhD, represented the European Investment Bank (EIB) by speaking about EIBs engagement in the Balkans.

Organized by the Board of Vienna Economic Forum and Österreichische Post AG, an Informal Evening Meeting followed by a Cocktail Reception took place at Hotel Marinela on the eve of Vienna Economic Forum – Sofia Talks 2018, on 17 May 2018, with H.E. Mr. Emil Karanikolov, Minister of Economy of Bulgaria, being Speaker of Honour. In addition, Mr. Aleksandar Vlahović, President of the Serbian Association of Economist and Member of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum; Mr. Symeon Tsomokos, Founder and Chairman of Delphi Economic Forum, Strategic Partner of Vienna Economic Forum; Ms. Danela Arsovska, President of the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce; and Mr. Gordan Milinić, Director of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina presented their organizations and their roles in the Western Balkans.

It is the aim of Vienna Economic Forum to contribute to the regional economic development of the entire region of South-Eastern Europe. With this in mind, Vienna Economic Forum wants to build a bridge between the Bulgarian EU-Presidency in 2018 and the subsequent Austrian EU-Presidency in the second half of the year under the motto “Politics meets Economy” – which is dedicated to implementing this concern. Therefore, we plan our 15th Jubilee Vienna Economic Forum – Vienna Future Dialogue 2018 on 19 November 2018 in Vienna under the same motto and have already advertised this in all countries of the region.

Vienna Economic Forum is very proud that Vienna Economic Forum – Sofia Talks 2018 was organized together with the Bulgarian Ministry for the Presidency of the Council of the EU 2018 and the Ministry of Economy of Bulgaria, as well as with the great support of Sopharma PLC, Bulgaria.

Vienna Economic Forum thanks all cooperation partners for their support, especially A1 Telekom Austria Group, Österreichische Post AG, Penkov, Markov & Partners, AIK Banka, Atlas Bank, Vienna Insurance Group, Investment Management Exhibition, Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB), Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Delphi Economic Forum, SeeNews and MonitorTV.