BUDAPEST BALKANS FORUM 2026
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
Venue
Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest
Erzsébet tér 7-8.
1051 Budapest, Hungary
Please note that the agenda is subject to change
Agenda
Monday
9
17:00 –
Registration
18:00 – 18:10
Opening remarks
Gladden Pappin
President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
18:10 – 19:10
High-level opening panel
Central Europe and the Western Balkans in the New Geopolitical Era
Péter Szijjártó
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
Dubravka Đedović
Minister of Mining and Energy, Republic of Serbia
Filip Ivanović
Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Montenegro
Moderator: Márton Ugrósdy
Deputy State Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, Hungary
19:10 – 20:30
Dinner
Tuesday
10
9:00 – 9:45
Registration
9:50 – 10:00
Welcoming remarks
Ákos Mernyei
Director of External Relations, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
Zsolt Bunford
Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Hungary for the Western Balkans
10:00 – 10:15
Keynote speech
János Bóka
Minister for European Union Affairs of Hungary
10:15 – 11:15
Ministerial Roundtable
Walking the Walk: Enlargement and the Western Balkans
János Bóka
Minister for European Union Affairs, Hungary
Elisa Spiropali
Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Republic of Albania
Predrag Zenović
Chief Negotiator for Montenegro with the European Union, Montenegro
Nemanja Starović
Minister of European Integration, Republic of Serbia
Moderator: Ákos Mernyei
Director of External Relations, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
11:15 – 11:45
Coffee break
11:45 – 12:45
High level panel discussion
Building a Stable and Secure Region through Strategic Connectivity
Péter Holicza Dr.
Deputy State Secretary for European Union Affairs and International Relations, Ministry of Energy of Hungary
Amer Kapetanović
Secretary General, Regional Cooperation Council, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Deli Andor
Ministerial Commissioner responsible for tasks facilitating the implementation of European connectivity, Ministry of European Union Affairs of Hungary
Ana Trišić-Babić
former acting president of the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Moderator: Miša Đurković
Head of the MCC-MKI Center for Geopolitics, Mathias Corvinus Collegium
12:45 – 14:00
Lunch break
14:00 – 15:00
High level panel discussion
Family, Migration and the Paths to a Resilient Future
Edith Harxhi
Executive Director of the Albanian Policy Center
Predrag Rajic
State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Republic of Serbia
Zoltán Kovács
Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations of Hungary
Annamária Vicsek
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, Deputy President, MEP
Moderator: Lilla Kakuk
Chief of Staff of the President, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
15:00 – 16:00
Special Envoy Roundtable
Zsolt Bunford
Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Hungary for the Western Balkans
Anžej Frangeš
Ambassador & Special Envoy for the Western Balkans of the Republic of Slovenia, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Budapest
Amb. René Troccaz
Special Envoy for the Western Balkans of France, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France
Mr. Eirik Nesteas Mathisen
Special Envoy for the Western Balkans of Norway, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Norway
Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel
Director for the Western Balkans, Türkiye, Council of Europe and OSCE, German Federal Foreign Office
Stribor Kikerec
Director-General for Southeast Europe, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Republic of Croatia
Moderator: Márton Ugrósdy
Deputy State Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, Hungary
16:00 – 16:10
Closing remarks
19:00 – 20:00
High-level Evening Panel
Security Dynamics in the Balkans: Peacekeeping, Military Development and Alliances
Péter Sztáray
State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security, Hungary
Josip Brkic
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Periša Kastratović
State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Montenegro
Moderator: Anton Bendarzsevszkij
Director at Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation
20:00 – 22:00