More than 5,200 guests from more than 70 countries, among them senior politicians, parliamentarians, business executives and culture leaders, are expected to attend the annual Economic Forum, which begins in Karpacz, southern Poland, on Tuesday.
The annual event is billed as the largest conference of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe and is sometimes referred to as the "Polish Davos.”
It aims to "create a favourable climate for the development of political and economic cooperation between EU member states and their neighbours," according to the event's website.
The conference, which runs until Thursday, includes more than 550 panel discussions and lectures as well as workshops and other events focusing on some of the most pressing problems in Central and Eastern Europe and the wider world.
In addition to political, economic and social issues, participants are expected to debate health, security and the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine during the three-day conference, whose main motto this year is "New Values of the Old Continent: Europe on the Threshold of Change."
The event includes an awards ceremony honouring outstanding figures in Europe and beyond. This year's Person of the Year award will go to the US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, the organizers have announced.
The annual Economic Forum, previously held in Krynica, another mountain resort in southern Poland, is now in its 32nd year.
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Source: IAR, PAP, forum-ekonomiczne.pl