Awareness that current generations might be harshly judged for our legacy is finally growing. However, much more should be done for this awareness to become predominant and to be transferred into actions. Bled Strategic Forum 2019 is about sustainability. Sustainable development is the only possible way forward if we want to preserve our planet and ourselves. This would be also the key word in the context of human rights, security and geopolitics including possible future scenarios for the EU, NATO and Western Balkans. Over the past 14 years Bled Strategic Forum has established itself as one of the most visible and strategic international events in the region of Central and Southeastern Europe, and a proud ambassador of the brand “I Feel Slovenia”, which is becoming more and more recognizable not only in Europe but all over the world, says Peter Grk, Secretary General of the Bled Strategic Forum international conference.
BSF 2019 will be exploring the distribution of resources as a security question. Which specific challenges to world peace inspired the topic in focus?
Modern and traditional threats are constantly shaping ever changing geopolitical situation in the world. We are living in a world of constant change, where we are faced with challenges and issues which are multifaceted, interconnected and have the potential to seriously disrupt our way of living and future relations between people, nations and regions. How we adapt to these changes will be of key importance in order to preserve standards, norms and values which are the backbone of modern societies and multilateral system as such. With this in mind, we started preparations for the Bled Strategic Forum 2019. We tried to understand what is moving the world forward, what are the key developments which are going to reshape the geostrategic outlook of the future. We tried to move away from traditional understanding of (re)sources, since in this globalized and digitalized society almost everything is a (re)source and everything has the potential to become a security threat if we don’t mitigate the effects and adapt to the changes around us. Fact is, we need to change ourselves if we want to successfully adapt to the issues and challenges of today and tomorrow. Sustainable development and climate change are two topics which became crucial for our understanding and perception of world affairs and our notion of the future. In this context, at BSF 2019, we would like to flag sustainable development as the only possible way forward if we want to preserve our planet and especially if we want to preserve ourselves. Sustainability of current policies will also be discussed in the context of human rights, security, geopolitics and regional dynamics, especially looking at the developments and possible future scenarios for the EU, NATO and Western Balkans. Finally, yet importantly, we will continue with our in-depth discussions regarding current economic trends in the world, especially the developing relations between US-China and EU, which are faced with many issues and challenges. A big part of this is technology and digitalization, immensely changing and reshaping our societies – Bled Strategic Forum has been monitoring and discussing these topics in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Who are the key private and public sector stakeholders the BSF will bring to Bled this September?
Bled Strategic Forum has been growing for the past 14 years and we are proud that today we are one of the most visible and strategic international events in the region of Central and Southeastern Europe. Last year we hosted around 1200 participants from over 80 countries and we are expecting similar numbers this year. This shows that we are on the right path to offer inclusive understanding and possible solutions for the most important challenges that the world is facing. Of course, not everything is in numbers, but rather in the quality of discussions and speakers attending. We are very fortunate that this year we will have an extremely interesting mix of participants coming from political life, business and civil society. This is also one of the most important missions of the Bled Strategic Forum – gathering people with different backgrounds and knowledge, who can provide unconventional thinking about various topics and issues. Having this in mind I can already reveal that this year we will be joined by Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Estonia, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Josep Borrell Fontelles, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, future EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, country who is holding the EU Council Presidency, Pekka Haavisto, Jeffrey Sachs, world-renowned professor of economics from the Columbia University, Andrea Illy, Chairman of illycaffè S.p.A., as well as many others who will make this event a memorable one.
Which major security questions will be discussed at the BSF? Is there a specific topic you hope to analyze and address?
As mentioned before, we cannot discuss security in a void, as it is influenced by different events, movements, decisions, developments, and technological advances in the broader international arena. In a highly unpredictable and hyper-connected world, our security is being constantly challenged and our security arrangements need to be closely monitored and adapted to the current reality on the ground. In this context, we will look back at 15 years of Slovenian membership in NATO and discuss the future of the organization, which is facing many challenges. Of course, already traditionally, we will also discuss the situation in the Western Balkans, where unresolved issues from the past still hamper regional cooperation and represent an obstacle to the irreversible stability, progress and security of the region.
The case for preserving multilateralism represents one of the key topics of the Slovenian diplomacy. How conducive is that approach to the current geopolitical context?
We have to understand one thing – geopolitical context is always changing and countries need to adapt; this process is always taking into account strategic and vital national interests. Slovenia is indeed a small country in size, yet it supports and actively contributes to a functioning and inclusive multilateral framework, based on the respect of international law and human rights. This gives us the opportunity to bring to the world table our ideas, suggestions on how we should develop as an inclusive, transparent and democratic society of the future. Multilateralism gives hope to the small countries that others can hear and respect their voice and opinion. This is why we are members of the UN, EU, Council of Europe, NATO, OECD and other international forums; this is why Slovenia respects international law and is trying to lead by example. Current geopolitical context is, of course, very challenging and not very conducive to the further development of multilateral cooperation. On the contrary, what we see today in the geopolitical arena is slow and medical deterioration of multilateral framework, which is not positive news for countries like Slovenia, who believe and exercise multilateralism as the foundation of their foreign and security policy.
How do you see the role of the EU in that context? Do you foresee the results of the recent EU elections affecting the EU stance and its role in shaping the global security landscape?
Someone once said that in the EU, you have two types of countries – small and ones who do not know yet that they are small. I would like to say the following – EU can remain a global actor and a responsible world leader if it acts as a united, democratic, transparent and inclusive partner in the international arena. We have to realize that divided and weak EU does not benefit anybody and it reduces our chances to play a meaningful role in the new geostrategic reality. EU has always been a sui generis body, an avant-garde project based on the vision of peace and security, which brought long-lasting stability and prosperity to Europe – we need to take lessons learned from the past into account while discussing our common future. I would like to add one more thing – global leaders, such as the EU must be able to ensure stability and progress also in their immediate surroundings. Enlargement of the EU is an unfinished story, the region of Western Balkans, which is at the heart of Europe, is still struggling to make decisive steps on the integration path towards the Union. EU needs to be more active, take decisions and put positive pressure on the countries of the region to fulfill all the necessary criteria and become members of the EU as soon as possible.
How did the development of BSF into one of the leading platforms for high-level strategic dialogue affect Slovenia’s overall diplomatic position? What is the importance of the BSF for the country?
Through BSF, Slovenia established its position in the regional and global framework as a country that respects and promotes human rights, sustainable development, and promotes international norms. All that is important to us in our geostrategic and multilateral context. It’s also an inclusive platform, where major stakeholders from different segments of society discuss key global challenges and offer Slovenia a unique opportunity to be a trendsetter and ahead of the curve, especially by promoting topics such as sustainable development, digitalization, artificial intelligence and green economy. Finally, Bled Strategic Forum is a growing community and every year we are proud ambassadors of the brand “I Feel Slovenia”, which is becoming more and more recognizable not only in Europe but all over the world.