The ninth edition of the Bled Strategic Forum, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for European Perspective, will be taking place on 1 and 2 September. Under the title The Power of Trust, the conference will focus on the global lack of trust, which is an inextricable part of well-functioning societies, the philosophy of leadership, contemporary challenges of cyber security and global demographic change, regional challenges of Central Europe and Western Balkans as well as hidden dimensions of international relations, with the issue of tourism included.

The Forum's addition, which is organised for the third time, the Business BSF, will focus on finding balance between different parts of Europe and integrating South East Europe in the infrastructure network of the European Union, enhancing business cooperation with India, defining the role of technological innovations as a major driving force of economic growth and achieving it.

The conference will also be featuring the fourth edition of Young BSF, scheduled between 27 August and 1 September. On this occasion, young participants will have a business case competition and discuss the potential of trust later on.

This year's international conference is proud to welcome the foreign ministers of Hungary, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Kosovo*, Macedonia and Croatia, several other ministers and deputy ministers, as well as many other representatives of international organisations, economy and academia from Slovenia and countries world-wide. Full list of more than 400 confirmed participants and further information about the content are available at www.bledstrategicforum.org or on Facebook and Twitter.

The Slovenian Ministry of Defence – the Slovenian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior – the Police and the Security and Protection Centre, and the Government Communication Office will also contribute to the successful realisation of the Bled Strategic Forum.

The Forum is organised in partnership with Slovenian companies, the main strategic partners are BMW Group Slovenia, Generali Group and Riko Group, whereas the list of other partners is available at http://www.bledstrategicforum.org/about/corporate_partnerships.

You are kindly invited to follow the direct broadcasting of the 9th Bled Strategic Forum at Slovenia 2 TV Channel.