Aspen-GMF Bucharest Forum 2022

The annual Aspen – GMF Bucharest Forum is a platform for genuine, thought-provoking, and forward-looking debate, which seeks to address topical questions and tackle the complex issues of increasingly dynamic and volatile regional and international contexts.

Following the 10 successful editions organized so far, we are proud to mark a momentum in the identity of the Bucharest Forum with a prominent 11th edition in 2022, highlighting the collaboration between the Aspen Institute Romania and the German Marshall Fund of the US in making possible to reunite on the same stage in Bucharest high-level international speakers and moderators. The Aspen – GMF Bucharest Forum has become throughout the last decade one of the most significant strategic public debates in the region, following its mission of offering a platform for forward-thinking on economic, security and societal policies and for promoting dialogue between governments, civil society, and businesses.

The 2022 edition will take place in the context of the war in Ukraine which has impacted the entire world, both economically and security wise. From energy prices to supply chains to defense industry to consumer prices, economic effects of the war are deeply felt. The humanitarian aspect of the war remains the main catastrophic outcome, only to be complemented by all the other crisis and implications. The military activity is not foreseen to end soon, and the length of the war will only deepen multiple crises. Albeit difficult, it is not premature to start a conversation about reconstruction, that must involve stabilization of Ukraine and the region as a pre-requisite for further actions.

The multitude of profound crises from the past years amplified what was already a massive transformation occurring across the whole spectrum of our societies. Thus, while the security aspects remain a priority in these times of war, the conversation and actions of shaping the future stability, peace and progress in the region and beyond are no less important. A steady, strategic reconstruction of Ukraine involves a regional dimension and approach, where economic growth, trade, infrastructure and its security, technological development as well as moral and social reconstruction are both coherently planned for and translated into action. NATO and EU member countries on the Eastern flank have been anchors for Western support for Ukraine, and they will continue to play a major role in its reconstruction and the further development of the region in the following years.

As with each edition, the event will reunite business representatives, officials, and the strategic community, in a tri-party format that best allows for synergetic analysis and approaches. Participants from Europe, North America, NATO partner countries as well as from Middle East and Asia will come together for the two days of debate, joined by high level representatives from NATO, the EU, and national governments.