The international conference “Western Balkans: Infrastructure and Energy From a Geopolitical Perspective” was held on May 29 in Warsaw, Poland. The conference was co-organized by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the editorial team of the geopolitical quarterly The Warsaw Institute Review. The event was part of the official program of Poland’s presidency of the Berlin Process and served as a preparatory meeting for the 2019 Western Balkans Summit, which will take place in Poznań. The event’s contents partner was the Warsaw Institute think tank. The primary purpose of the conference was to encourage an expert discussion on EU integration processes in the Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia) in such domains as infrastructure and energy along with the impact exerted by global and local geopolitical processes. The conference was attended by top scholars and experts, representatives of non-governmental organizations, media and state administration from both the Western Balkans and the European Union. In his welcoming remarks, President of the Warsaw Institute Krzysztof Kamiński who outlined the key topics of the discussion while highlighting the importance of the expert debate on EU integration of the Western Balkans.

Keynote Speech

In the keynote speech, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Poland and Plenipotentiary of the Polish Government for the Western Balkans Summit Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said that the development of infrastructure and energy sectors in the Western Balkans is of key importance for the European integration process. He emphasized that Poland is fully aware of the significance of infrastructural connections and networks as it overcame similar development challenges. Mr. Szynkowski vel Sęk underlined that Poland strongly encourages any efforts made to integrate the Western Balkans with the European Union.

Director of the Institute for National and International Security (INIS) Darko Trifunović, deliver his speech at Session 3 GEOPOLITICS. During the international Conference, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Poland and Plenipotentiary of the Polish Government for the Western Balkans Summit Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk meet with dr Darko Trifunovic. Main topic was further inclusion of the Western Balkan countries to EU, Three Seas Initiative, and Security situation in West Balkan region. Special attention was on forthcoming Poznan Conference in July this year.