Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter, CEI Secretary General, and Amb. Elena Kirtcheva, the Secretary General of the Vienna Economic Forum met at the CEI Headquarters in Trieste on 4 June 2012 in order to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for enhancing cooperation between the two organisations and developing joint activities.
The Vienna Economic Forum, founded in 2004, aims to promote investment opportunities in the region from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and Caspian Region. The main conference of the Vienna Economic Forum takes place every year in November, gathering world-wide business representatives and decision makers. Considering the role played by the CEI in promoting economic development of the countries of the region, especially through its partnership with the EBRD, the involvement of the CEI in the Forum is envisaged. This year’s Forum will be organized in Vienna on 18-19 November. The CEI, with its well established intergovernmental structures, could complement the partnership of the Vienna Economic Forum, mainly including private sector representatives. The two organisations also agreed to exchange information on economic developments in the region and update one another on activities in the economic field. They will nominate focal points in order to develop bilateral cooperation and make joint efforts to enhance their media relations, especially through cooperation among news agencies the CEI is currently promoting.