Between the 3rd and 5th of March, the Berlin Institute for Cultural Diplomacy – a longstanding partner of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization – organized the 2025 edition of the Berlin Economic Forum, focusing on “International Business, Sustainable Investments and Environmental Projects for Advancing Global Development, Democracy and Peace”, in partnership with the Club of Skopje and the International Centre “Alliance of Civilizations.”
At the event, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization was represented by the President of its Scientific Council, Professor Emil Constantinescu, and the Vice-president of the Scientific Council, Professor Vlad Nistor.
The Berlin Economic Forum was attended by a number of current and former heads of state and government, representatives of global business and academic milieu. Among them, we mention: Gjorge Ivanov, President of North Macedonia (2009-2019); Boris Tadić, President of Serbia (2004-2012); Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia (2010-2015); Mladen Ivanic, Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014-15, 2016-17); Massimo d’Alema, Prime-minister of Italy (1998-2000); Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland (2001-2007); Natalia Gavriliță, Prime-minister of the Republic of Moldova (2021-2023); Jan Vapaavuori, Minister of Finance, Finland (2012-2015); George Pantelli, Minister for Education and Youth, Cyprus; Yossi Beilin, Minister of Finance (1995), Justice (1999-2001) and Religious Affairs (2000-2001) of the State of Israel; Meir Sheetrit, Minister of Finance and Justice, Israel; Nitzan Horowitz, Minister of Healthcare, Israel; Erkki Tuomioja, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Finland (2000-2007; 2011-2015); Davor Filipovic, former Minister of Finance and Economics, Croatia ; Attila Gyorgy, State Secretary at the Romanian Ministry of Finance; Etleva Kadili, UNICEF Director for South and Eastern Africa. At the same time, participants to the Forum were also able to follow addresses from representatives of the royal households of Bavaria (Luitpold, Prinz von Bayern) and Montenegro (Boris Petrovič-Njegos).
At the event, the business environment was represented by Pablo Hernandez de Cos, Governor of the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Spain (2018-2024); Mår Guđmundsson, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland (2009-2019); Miguel Pedro Sousa Monteiro, President of the Board of Directors of the Cape Verde Stock Exchange; Sok Hour Hong, CEO of the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX); Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO of the Colombo Stock Exchange (Sri Lanka); Adrian Iastremschi, President of the Moldovan Stock Exchange; Trajan Angeloski, President of the Macedonian Chamber of Commerc, and Akkan Suver, President of the `Marmara Group` Foundation for Strategic and Social Research, Turkey.
The academic and judicial spheres were represented by: Peter Jambrek, Rector of the New University, Slovenia; Mohammad Oman, Professor at the Arab Academy of Science and Technology; Michel Liegeois, Professor of International Relations at the University of Leuven; Sheikh Ramzi, Professor at the Oxford Islamic Information Centre; Ulrich Bruckner, “Jean Monnet” Professor at the Berlin Stanford University; Sanita Osipova, Justice of the Supreme Court of the Latvian Republic.
PERSPECTIVES FOR PEACE AS SEEN FROM THE BALKANS
Beyond the debates focusing on themes of economics and development, the Berlin Economic Forum also featured a dedicated special session on Perspectives from the Balkans. Here, speakers – drawn from among former heads of state and government from the Balkan region, university professors and first-rate diplomats – tackled a broad variety of topics of current interest, from the contribution of the settlement of succession issues to peace and stability, the future of the European Union and the role of cultural diplomacy, to political patterns and the political psychology of a modern world that finds itself at the very crossroads between epochs. Those attending these impactful discussions, organized under the aegis of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Berlin, were treated to thoughtful musings from Professor Peter Jambrek, Rector of the `New University` of Slovenia; Her Excellency, Ana Polak Petrič, Slovenian Ambassador to Germany; Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia (2010-2015), Boris Tadić, President of Serbia (2004-2012), Mladen Ivanic, Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014-15, 2016-17), Gjorge Ivanov, President of North Macedonia (2009-2019) and Davor Filipovic, Minister of Finance and Sustainable Development, Croatia.
THE BERLIN INITIATIVE FOR A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TO THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
The Berlin Economic Forum also saw the launch of The Berlin Initiative for a Diplomatic Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, an effort begun several years prior by a joint Israeli-Palestinian group headed by Hiba Husseini, a renowned barrister who chaired the Legal Committee to Final Status Negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis and served as legal advisor to the peace process negotiations since 1994, and Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli Minister of Finance, Justice and Religious Affairs. This group tirelessly worked together in order to outline and elaborate a proposal to create a “Confederation of the Holy Land” that may provide a solution for the peaceful collaboration of Israel and Palestine, given that the much-vaunted two-state solution that had been championed for decades as the only viable solution to the conflict now appears near-unworkable.
Predicated on the proven model of best practices illustrated by the positive evolution of the European Union over the past decades, the “Confederation of the Holy Land” proposes a series of solutions to the existing animosity between Israelis and Palestinians, and will underpin the close cooperation and collaboration between them going forward. Moreover, this collaborative framework remains open to the accession of other states in the region that might wish to build a joint forward-looking vision for the future development of the Levantine space in the key of peace and cooperation.
In reference to this welcome initiative, in his intervention, President Constantinescu warned that:
“We must not fool ourselves. In the current geostrategic context, any initiative that aims to resolve the conflict in the Near East will require enormous efforts, applied approaches and wise mediation between the parties to the conflict. This will not be at all easy; and I wish to take this opportunity to applaud the temerity of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin of having dedicated all its efforts in support of this particularly important initiative for safeguarding the continuity of regional and global security.”
