The fifth edition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum will take place on 3-4 September, in Bucharest. Organized by New Strategy Center, with the institutional support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence, the Forum benefits from the co-sponsorship of the Public Diplomacy Division of NATO, as it did for all its previous editions.

After four iterations, the Forum is now established as a leading debate platform in the region, a meeting point for stakeholders and ideas on the most stringent issues in security, defence and international relations. As a highly professional conference bringing together officials, scholars, analysts, representatives of non-governmental organizations and international experts with an aim to facilitate in-depth dialogue and propose multi-dimensional approaches to old and emerging challenges, the Forum is a unique event in Romania.

Building together a more resilient Europe is at the center of our efforts to engage in a pragmatic, solution-oriented dialogue in Bucharest, in September this year. The pandemic highlighted the need for our societies to build resilience in all its forms, from emergency response systems, infrastructure, economy to security culture and education, and professional discussions on all these aspects are essential.

The 2021 edition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum seeks to address the security challenges in the region and beyond, by using the lessons learned to enable the what is set to be a long post-pandemic recovery and forward thinking so that we can ensure the resilience of our societies for future challenges and crisis. New Strategy Center aims to highlight that the Black Sea region and the Balkans represent a strategic continuum, with profound links and interdependencies, that require a unitary approach. This philosophy drives the concept behind the Forum since 2017.

With 18 panels scheduled over two days, the Forum will set ground for what we can do together for a safer and prosperous Europe in a world marked by new challenges, the perspectives on the economy of the future, opportunities in the region for development, cooperation, and supplier diversification in the energy sector, supply chains, infrastructure and food security, the potential of using unmanned systems and the new opportunities for the defence industry.

During the Panel IIIb. Food Security and Resilience in the Black Sea Region and the Balkans in the context of COVID-19 and Other Shocks session, Claudia Zoani, METROFOOD-RI coordinator, will talk about challenges, opportunities and the role of Research Infrastructures upon this actual theme.

More information here

Event programme