Working Meeting with Ambassador Dr. Ulrike Hartmann, Head of Department III.6 – South Eastern Europe and EU Enlargement; Special Envoy for the Western Balkans at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA)

With great pleasure, VEF Secretary General Ambassador a.D. Dr. Elena Kirtcheva welcomed Ambassador Dr. Ulrike Hartmann, Head of Department III.6 – South Eastern Europe and EU Enlargement; Special Envoy for the Western Balkans at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA), for a working meeting on Wednesday, 25 June 2025, at the premises of Vienna Economic Forum.

Ambassador Dr. Ulrike Hartmann contributed her many years of broad diplomatic experience and high professional competence to the discussion – in particular with regard to her diplomatic postings in Serbia, at the Office of the High Representative (OHR) of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo and the OHR Office in Banja Luka, as well as in the Department for South Eastern Europe at the Foreign Ministry, and as a member of the Austrian OSCE Delegation during Austria’s OSCE Chairmanship in the year 2000.

As Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Bosnia and Herzegovina, she received particular recognition for her deep understanding of the dynamics of the Western Balkans and of the entire region of the Vienna Economic Forum Member Countries.

The in-depth working meeting offered the opportunity for a profound exchange of views on the impact of current geopolitical developments on the European future of the VEF Member Countries, as well as on the role of these countries in the further consolidation of the European Union.

Secretary General Ambassador a.D. Dr. Elena Kirtcheva provided information about the ongoing activities and plans of Vienna Economic Forum, in particular regarding the intended transformation of Vienna Economic Forum (VEF) into an International Organisation (Int. Org.) with Headquarters in Vienna, and

underlined in this context the important and potentially leading role of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA).

The meeting took place in an open and friendly atmosphere and reaffirmed the close connection between Vienna Economic Forum and the responsible representatives of Austrian diplomacy and institutions.