Central and Eastern Europe Strategy Summit 2025

In-person attendance is by invitation only. The event will also air live on this page.

Interested in attending? Request an RSVP here.

Hudson Institute’s Center on Europe and Eurasia will host its third Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Strategy Summit. Timed to coincide with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings, the conference will give senior CEE and European Union officials an opportunity to discuss the business and economic climate of their region with an American audience.

The summit also aims to reinforce ties between the United States and its Eastern European allies. While this year’s discussion will once again focus on geoeconomics, there will be an added emphasis on the importance of financing defense investment. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Hudson Institute’s Walter P. Stern Chair, will give the keynote address.

Hudson thanks the Czech PPF Group for making this summit possible.

Agenda

9:00 a.m. | Breakfast

9:15 a.m. |  Welcome Remarks

• Joel Scanlon, Executive Vice President, Hudson Institute

9:30 a.m. | Opening Remarks 

• Maria Luís Albuquerque, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union

10:00 a.m. | Panel 1: Central Europe as an Economic Engine

• H.E. Nikolina Prah, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Slovenia
• Dr. Lars-Hendrik Röller, Founder & Chair, Berlin Global Dialogue, former Chief Economic Advisor to Chancellor Merkel and G7/G20 Sherpa
• H.E. Dr. Jorgovanka Tabaković, Governor, National Bank of Serbia

Moderator

• Jamie Fly, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

11:20 a.m. | Panel 2: Bolstering European Resilience Through Investment

• H.E. Dr. Anca Dragu, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova
• H.E. Dr. Bogdan Ivan, Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Romania
• Amb. Tomáš Pojar, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, former Czech Ambassador to Israel
• H.E. Barna Tánczos, Minister of Finance, Romania

Moderator

• Matthew Boyse, Senior Fellow, Center on Europe and Eurasia, Hudson Institute

12:30 p.m. | Lunch Discussion: The Transatlantic Partnership in a New Era

• Amb. Nikki R. Haley, Walter P. Stern Chair, Hudson Institute
• Jan Růžička, Chief External Affairs Officer, PPF Group

1:30 p.m. | Ukraine as a Source of Economic and Security Dynamism

• H.E. Dr. Yurii Heletiy, Deputy Governor, National Bank of Ukraine
• H.E. Dr. Olga Zykova, Deputy Finance Minister, Ukraine
• Luke Coffey, Senior Fellow, Center on Europe and Eurasia, Hudson Institute