Bled Strategic Forum - I

I am now at Bled. I got here yesterday at about 2 PM. The security around Bled is tight (very…very tight). Each of the speakers has their own security detail, and many of them have multiple units. The police are all over the City of Bled and everyone is on high alert. This is good as it makes one feel safe. To put things in perspective, there are two (or four, depending on the hour of the day) undercover police/security officers on my hotel floor alone…

Yesterday, I had a meeting with my foreign liaison officer who is handling my travel, speaking, and other arrangements while in Bled. Soon after this, I attended the keynote panel with presentations by Mr Janez Fajfar, Mayor of Bled; H.E. Dr Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and Chairman of the Bled Strategic Forum; H.E. Mr Janez Janša, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia; H.E. Mr Mikheil Saakashvili, President of the Republic Georgia’ H.E. Dr Ivo Sanader, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia’ H.E. Mr Gediminas Kirkilas, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania; H.E. Mr Nikola Gruevski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia; H.E. Mr Martti Ahtisaari, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Future Status Process for Kosovo. Each of these presentations was very insightful, blunt and frank, and thought-provoking. In addition, I had several conversations with other dignitaries such as members of the Egyptian and the Zambian diplomatic core.

Today, I have a full day of meetings, and then will be presenting my thoughts on the EU Integration Challenges at the Global Preponderance Panel (see LINK)

More later…

My escort is knocking at my door…time to head for breakfast…