Ljubljana: The Nizami Ganjavi International Center, in collaboration with the Friends of the Western Balkans, conducted its 36th High-Level Meeting titled ‘The Western Balkans in the Vortex of the New Security Geopolitics’ from April 27-28 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The event underscored its status as a crucial platform for the Western Balkans, attracting former state and government leaders, international organization representatives, special envoys, politicians, and experts.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Slovenian President Nataa Pirc Musar participated in the meeting, offering insights into the current Western Balkans situation and discussing the region’s future. The opening ceremony featured speeches from Borut Pahor, former President of Slovenia and founder of the ‘Friends of Western Balkans’ Institute, alongside Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, former President of Croatia, and Boris Tadic, former President of Serbia. They emphasized the significance of political stability, security, and a European outlook for the Western Balkans.
The meeting attracted representatives from Austria, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany, alongside the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament. Discussions focused on the influence of new security geopolitics on the EU’s future and enlargement, the regional political, economic, and security landscape, NATO’s role, EU expansion’s impact on stability, and the involvement of external entities like the US, Russia, China, and Trkiye in the Western Balkans.
For the first time, the event featured country-specific dialogues on each Western Balkan nation, offering an in-depth evaluation of their EU accession progress and prevailing challenges. Additionally, the Center’s Secretary-General held bilateral discussions with the President of Slovenia, the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament, the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Slovakia, and Borut Pahor on the sidelines of the event.