Introduction
The 19th edition of the Dubrovnik Forum organized annually was held in Croatia from 26 to 27 June. The conference covered a wide scope of topics on global policy and global governance. It was besides an chance for the Croatian administration to establish contacts with a diverse group of representatives of states and global organisations. Among the topics of discussion, the issues of construction within and outside European infrastructure connections were peculiarly intense. Croatia's leaders see that their country can play a more crucial function in creating supply chains integrated into the Tri-Mediterranean Initiative and the IMEC project. With respect to the first of the initiatives, the precedence of the improvement of transport infrastructure in the coming years is primarily to build rail and electricity connections.
Conference with a global perspective
Organized annually by the Ministry of abroad Affairs and European Croatia, Dubrovnik Forum is 1 of the most crucial global conferences in South-East Europe. This year's edition was already the nineteenth in the past of this initiative. It has gathered over 500 participants, including many political leaders, experts, representatives of global organisations and scientists. The panellists included more than 30 ministers and their deputies, including Croatian MFA chief Gordon Radman and Italian MFA Antonio Tajani, as well as representatives of European, Asian and African governments. besides present was Deputy president of the European Parliament Nicolae Ștefănuță, Deputy General Secretary of the OECD Frantisek Ruzicka, representatives of the Organisation for safety and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations for Industrial Development. The Minister of abroad Affairs of Uzbekistan had the chance to present prospects for energy cooperation with his country, and the Secretary of State from the Ministry of abroad Affairs of Mongolia shared his reflection on the multi-vector policy of his country.
The wide section of the invited guests reflected the rich subject of the conference itself, which this year was held under the general slogan "The Age of Multipolarity". The individual panels afraid the competition of powers, maritime and energy security, trade and global transport, global institutions, the improvement of the confederate global states and their position in global policy. There were besides regional themes, the stableness of the Western Balkans and the challenges facing the European Union and NATO, although the function of these 2 organisations was alternatively on the margins of the another discussions.
It was easy to note that the Forum focused on issues that went far beyond those straight affecting Croatia, the best example of which is the discussion of the function of African countries with representatives of the 5 countries of the continent, including 2 ministers. Against the background of another akin conferences, the Dubrovnik Forum was distinguished by the adoption of a broad global perspective, unlimited only to the problems of the nearest neighbourhood of the organizer.
Regional and global infrastructure challenges
One of the leading topics of the conference was infrastructure and transport cohesion of the Western Balkans and, more broadly, South-East Europe. The current state of affairs and expectations of the Tri-Sea Initiative and the India- mediate East-Europe economical Corridor (IMEC, India–Middle East–Europe economical Corridor) have been discussed.
This year's Forum in Dubrovnik was held at a peculiar time for the Tri-Sea Initiative. Just 2 months earlier, in the same conference room, the summit of the Heads of the 3 Seas took place, where the decade of format activity was summarised. At the same time, discussions are inactive underway in Brussels on the form of the next multi-annual budget of the European Union, from which projects proposed and implemented by the Tri-Mediterranean Initiative will be financed.
Romana Vlachutin, Croatia's peculiar Envoy for strategical Communications and the National Coordinator for the Tri-Sea Initiative, argued that the Tri-Sea is now "the most crucial infrastructure task of the European Union". However, discussing him requires a change of mind. This is not just an infrastructure discussion, Vlachutin stressed "the discussion on infrastructure connections is actually a discussion on supply chains and the creation of added value in the economy." She besides pointed out that this initiative should be viewed in a broader global perspective. The fresh seaports of the Trimorese states can importantly shorten the way that cargo ships must take between continents. The importance of the Tri-Sea goes beyond the European continent.
Vlachutin noted that the Tri-Mediterranean Initiative has already achieved any successes, primarily in terms of the creation of gas transmission infrastructure. Here, however, the list of key achievements is to end. The journey by passenger train from Gdańsk to Zagreb inactive takes about 20 hours. The freight warehouse needs 52 hours to scope Thessaloniki from Gdańsk. On the way, he needs to change the locomotive respective more times. During this period, travel time is much longer than on akin Western European routes.
Faced with the challenges of energy transition, the movement of supply chains and the safety crisis in Europe, Vlachutin points out that the improvement of railway infrastructure and the construction of cross-border electricity connections are to be a precedence of the Tri-Sea Initiative for the following years. In order to make these investments possible, it is essential to safe adequate EU backing for the next multiannual budgetary framework, including the Connecting Europe Facility.
Similarly, many places were devoted to the initiative of the India – mediate East – Europe economical Corridor. This officially presented in 2023 at the G20 summit in fresh Delhi an economical project, initially developed by diplomats from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United arabian Emirates and India, was designed to make fresh transport corridors from and through the mediate East. In particular, the fresh routes were to bypass the Red Sea and by land link Saudi ports over the Persian Gulf with the Mediterranean ports of Israel. Outside the countries of initiators, the first Memorandum of knowing was signed in 2023 by France, Italy, Germany and the European Commission. Although no authoritative gathering of all IMEC signatories has been held since 2023, various national and bilateral projects identified with IMEC are implemented.
The IMEC task seems to have revived in political discourse after a series of crises that swept through the mediate East from 2023 to 2026. Luigi Di Maio, an EU peculiar typical in the Persian Gulf, argued in Dubrovnik that from the position of the European states, IMEC is part of the construction of commercial resilience. Today, the European Union is besides dependent on the Strait of Ormuz and the Red Sea. IMEC will aid diversify trade routes and reduce the impact of possible crises.
Romana Vlachutin drew attention to the failure of the land section of the Belt and Road Initiative initiative. The war in Ukraine, the economical isolation of Russia by the alleged West and the instability of Central Asia made investments in this region little attractive. "The Northern Road (BRI) is neutralized and will not return for the moment. The current generation of leaders already has a bad sentiment for her," said Vlachutin. However, the request to safe supply chains means that we request to look for fresh routes anyway. India's beer for Europe, at least in the commercial sphere, is considered to be 1 of the key drivers of India and Europe's global economical relations. Vlachutin indicates that IMEC reaches its possible far beyond the Dekan Peninsula. The infrastructure created under this initiative besides strengthens the link between Europe and East and South East Asia.
Croatia's interest in IMEC is understandable. 1 of the ports included in the IMEC-related investment plans is the Adriatic Triestr. Croatia would like to "capture" part of the goods targeted at the markets in Central Europe, so that they first scope its ports, followed by rail and roads being transported further. However, specified visions are not easy to implement. As stressed by Affaq Hussain, co-founder and manager of the Bureau of investigation on manufacture and economical Fundamentals (BRIEF), the construction of specified infrastructure requires long-term investment, well beyond the decade horizon. It is essential to carry out a complex due diligence and to safe backing for many years forward. The IMEC task cannot only be implemented by private investors. That is why the engagement of countries and global organisations has become so important.
Summary
The Dubrovnik conference is an interesting example of how a tiny country can attract the attention of partners with whom it seems to have small in common. Dubrovnik Forum attracted guests from distant regions with which otherwise Croatian diplomacy would be more hard to organise bilateral meetings. The conference did not focus solely on the Western Balkans, but focused on global challenges. In this sense, it can be said that the organiser, after all, is the government of Croatia, trying to play bravely above his weight and actively care for relations with distant partners.
The Forum programme besides highlighted Croatia's ambition to actively influence the form of supply chains in the region. The quality of Croatia's infrastructure and capabilities proceed to disagree from its partners, even from Central Europe. However, Zagreb wants to exploit the benefits of its country and participate in discussions on the course of trade routes in the region. Therefore, it is expected that Croatia will be 1 of the drivers of the Tri-Sea Initiative in the close future and will search to join the IMEC discussions.
