Berlin Economic Forum 2025

Speakers Breakfast

Speakers Breakfast

Speakers Breakfast

Session 1
Chair: Jack McConnell & Davor Filipovic

Session 1
Chair: Ivan Ivanov & Mladen Ivanic

Global Economic Challenges and Stability of Small Economies

Már Guðmundsson
(Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland 2009-19)

Sustainable Investments in Tourism: A Catalyst for Global Development and Environmental Resilience

Charles Fernandez
(Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation, and Investments of Antigua and Barbuda)

European Economic Challenges: The Role of Central Banks

Pablo Hernández de Cos    
(70th Governor of the Bank of Spain 2018-24)

Family Companies as Reliable International Networks

Luitpold Prinz von Bayern
(Head of König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei; Member of the House of Wittelsbach)

European Economic & Financial Challenges: The Role of Cities to enable Growth and Development

Jan Vapaavuori    
(Chair of Finnvera's Board of Directors; Former Mayor of Helsinki 2017-21; Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland 2012-15)

Navigating the Global Political Economy: The Role of Small Island Developing States in a Complex Geo-political Landscap

Carlos James
(Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Sustainable Development and Culture of St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

Session 2
Chair: Jack McConnell & Davor Filipovic

Session 2
Chair:Ivan Ivanov & Mladen Ivanic

Miguel Pedro Sousa Monteiro
(President of the Board of Directors of Cape Verde Stock Exchange)

Protecting Innovation for a Sustainable Future: The Role of Intellectual Property in Advancing Global Development

Sandris Laganovskis
(Director of the Cooperation and Partnerships Department in the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO))

Mohammed Omran             
(Professor of Financial Economics, Arab Academy for Science and Technology; Former Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority of Egypt; Former Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange)

Beyond Politics: Artificial Super Intelligence for Future Governance

Boris Petrović-Njegoš
(Member of the House of Petrović-Njegoš; Son and Heir Apparent to Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro)

CSX: A Stock Market to Promote a New Business Culture

Sok Hour Hong
(CEO of the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX))

Human Dignity - Legal and Bioethical Perspectives

Sanita Osipova    
(Judge of the Supreme Court of Latvia)

Sri Lanka Renaissance – the Economic, Social and Cultural Awakening

Rajeeva Bandaranaike        
(Chief Executive Officer, Colombo Stock Exchange)

Investing in the Future: The Power of Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Societies

Edin Dilberović    
(Secretary General ad interim of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tea, Coffee & Refreshments

Tea, Coffee & Refreshments

Session 3
Chair: Jack McConnell & Davor Filipovic

Session 3
Chair:Ivan Ivanov & Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh

Economic Policies in Action: Leveraging Education for Sustainable Future through Cyprus Example

George Panteli     
(Director General of the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth)

Akkan Suver
(President of the Marmara Group Foundation)

Developing Moldova’s Capital Markets: Opportunities and Integration with European Markets

Andrian Iastremschi
(President of the Moldovan Stock Exchange)

Ahmet Aras
(Mayor of Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey)

Industrial Policy: Building Europe's Strategic Independence and Security

Natalia Gavrilița
(Prime Minister of Moldova 2021-23)

From Dialogue to Action: The UAE’s Vision for Global Collaboration and Innovation

Ahmed Alattar
(UAE Ambassador to Germany)

Moldova´s Creative Industries: Catalysts for Sustainable Growth, Global Partnerships & Cultural Diplomacy

Andrei Chistol
(State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova)

Empowerment of Women in the Economy & Diplomacy: The Vast Positive Economic and Diplomatic Impacts

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
(Chair of the Alba Party, Scotland; Former Member of the British Parliament, Former Memeber of the COE Parliament)

Lunch Session

Special Lunch Session

Lunch Session

Welcome Session
Chair: Ivan Ivanov & Mark Donfried

Session 4
Chair: Ulrich Brückner & Mark Donfried

14:00 Session 4
Chair: Yossi Beilin & Hiba Husseini

Welcome by Gjorge Ivanov
(President of North Macedonia 2009-19)
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Message from the Club of Skopje

Ivan Ivanov
(Chairman of the Board, International Center Alliance of Civilizations)
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Message form the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce

Trajan Angeloski
(President of Macedonian Chamber of Commerce)
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Welcome Message by Emil Constantinescu
(President of Romania 1996-2000)
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Middle East Now

Vlad Nistor
(Former President of the Senate, University of Bucharest; Former Romanian MP & MEP)
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Financing Environmental Protection in Romania

Attila Gyorgy       
(State Secretary in the Ministry of Public Finance of Romania)

André Azoulay
(Counsellor to H.M. King Mohammed VI, Morocco)

Panel Discussion 1

„The Trump Administration Efforts towards Peace between Israel and Palestine / Egyptian and Jordanian Position / Internal Political Situation in Israel and in Palestine“

Moderator: Andreas Reinicke

Panelists:  Hiba Husseini, Hesham Youssef, Farah Badour

Miguel Ángel Moratinos
(United Nations Under-Secretary-General, High-Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations)

Session 1
Ivan Ivanov & Mark Donfried

Session 5
Chair: Ulrich Brückner & Mark Donfried

15:00 - Session 4
Chair: Yossi Beilin & Hiba Husseini

Akkan Suver
(President of the Marmara Group Foundation)

Jörg Walendy
(Representative of the German Foreign Ministry)

Panel Discussion 2

„The Role of the Gulf / Arab States and the Prospects for Them to put Boots on the Ground / The Rebuilding of Gaza and the Options for a non-Hamas Government in the Gaza Strip“

Moderator: Miguel Moratinos

Panelists:Samieh Al Abed, Nitzan Horowitz, Ann Linde

Igweobi Anietom chuzi
(CEO, Nigeria AC Drugs Ltd.)

Martin Frick
(Director of the WFP Global Office Berlin)

The "United States of the Middle East": A Workable Solution to Permanent Peace

Sheikh Ramzy
(Oxford Islamic Information Center)

What are the Economic Benefits of Global Migration?

Jean-Philippe Chauzy
(Chief of Mission, IOM Germany)

Equality, Peace, and Prosperity: The True Foundations of a Just Green Transition

Leila Ali Elmi
(Member of the Parliament of Sweden)

Massimo d'Alema
(Prime Minister of Italy 1998-2000; Minister of Foreign Affairs 2006-8)

Tea, Coffee & Refreshments

Tea, Coffee & Refreshments

Tea, Coffee & Refreshments

Session 2
Chair: Ivan Ivanov & Mark Donfried

Session 6
Chair: Ulrich Brückner & Mark Donfried

Special Session –
Cultural Diplomacy in Scotland

A New World Order—What Role for Europe and the UK

Jack McConnell   
(First Minister of Scotland (2001-07))

The Need for Diplomacy in the New World (dis)Order

Humza Yousaf
(First Minister of Scotland 2023-24)

16:30 – 17:30

Memorial Ceremony /
Alex Salmond

Words: Gjorge Ivanov, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, Mark Donfried

“The Role Scotland Can Play in Cultural Diplomacy”

Moderator: Mark Donfried

Panelists:
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
(Chair of the Alba Party, Scotland; Former Member of the British Parliament, Former Member of the COE Parliament)
Humza Yousaf
(First Minister of Scotland 2023-24)

The Role of Education and Cultural diplomacy in Diplomatic Solution for Peace!

Katalin Bogyay
(President of UNESCO 36th General Conference; Former UN and UNESCO Ambassador of Hungary)

It’s not Worthy to Give-up: a New diplomatic Offensive for a Solution to the Israeli-Palestine Conflict is needed

Ann Linde
(Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden 2019-22)         

(17:00 - 17:30)

From Crisis to better Policies: How to make Migration more Sustainable, Predictable and Manageable

Mikael Ribbenvik Cassar
(Deputy Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA))

Israel and Palestine - the Conditions for Peace

Erkki Tuomioja
(Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland 2000-07, 2011-15)

Europe and the East-Med: the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Perspective

Harris C. Georgiades
(Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs of Cyprus)

(17:30-18:00)
“Securing Africa’s Future: Placing Human Capital Investment at the Heart of Prosperity”

Etleva Kadilli
(Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF)

The Reassurance Dimension in the Future Peace Agreement : the Challenges of a Third Party's Boots on the Ground

Michel Liegeois
(Senior Professor in International Relations and Security Studies at UCLouvain (Belgium))

Special Session –
Prespectives from the Balkan Region
Hoseted by the Embassy of Slovenia to Berlin

Peter Jambrek
(Rector of the New University, Slovenia)
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17:45
Contribution of the Settlement of Succession Issues to Peace and Stability: The Case of the former Yugoslavia

Ana Polak Petrič
(Ambassador of Slovenia to Germany)
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18:00
Future of the EU and the Role of Cultural Diplomacy

Ivo Josipović
(President of Croatia 2010-15)
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18:15
Valid political Patterns and political Psychology of the modern World at the Crossroads of Epochs

Boris Tadić           
(President of Serbia 2004-12)
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18:30
The Balkans - the end of Conflicts or the Beginning of New Ones

Mladen Ivanic       
Chairman of Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina 2014-15, 2016-17

18:45
Edin Dilberović    
(Secretary General ad interim of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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18:50
Climbing the Ladder, Guarding the Future: How Social Mobility, Security, and AI are Redefining Global Progress, Peace & Democracy

Davor Filipovic    
(Former Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia)
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19:00
Gjorge Ivanov      
(President of North Macedonia 2009-19)

Ivan Ivanov
(Chairman of the Board, International Center Alliance of Civilizations)

The Prospects for Expanding the Abraham Accords and Advancing Peace between Israel and Palestine, with the Support of the Trump Administration

Nitzan Horowitz
(Former Israeli Minister for Health; Former Head of the Merez Party)

The Berlin Initiative - Opening Session
Chair: Yossi Beilin & Hiba Husseini

Opening Remarks:

“The Two State Solution is the Inevitable Outcome for the Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and Regional Stability”

Yossi Beilin
Hiba Husseini
Miguel Ángel Moratinos
André Azoulay
Massimo d'Alema
Meir Sheetrit
Humza Yousaf
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh

The Holy Land Confederation (HLC) Session

“The HLC as a Practical Way to Implement the Two State Solution”

Moderator: Robert Serry

Panelists: Hiba Husseini; Yossi Beilin; Shlomo Brom

20:30 Welcome Group Dinner

Group Dinner

Farewell Group Dinner