The Local Government Three Seas Congress and the Economic Forum took place on May 16-17, 2023 in Lublin. The event, organized for the third time by the Lublin Voivodeship Local Government, once again gathered representatives of the highest state and regional authorities, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, business, science and culture from 12 countries of the Three Seas Initiative, around the topic of broadly understood economic development.
The opening ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, who holds the Congress under honorary patronage every year, and the Speaker of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Elżbieta Witek. The event was attended by representatives of 244 regions from 12 member states of the Three Seas Initiative.
During this event, a number of discussion sessions were held devoted to security, economy and development directions in the Three Seas Initiative countries. The topics discussed included both energy and military security in the context of the war in Ukraine. The issues of the main challenges facing the Three Seas countries, both in the regional and global context, were also discussed.
During two days of the Three Seas Local Government Congress, two declarations were signed. An agreement was signed to establish the Three Seas Universities Network, signed by representatives of 13 universities from 10 countries. An international agreement on the Three Seas Network of Regions was also signed – a format that deepens interregional cooperation in Central Europe. The network was initiated in 2021 by the Lublin Voivodeship. During the previous editions of the Congress, state representatives signed the Economic Declaration of the Three Seas Region Network, also known as the Lublin Declaration.
In parallel with the Congress, the Economic Forum was held, which included discussion sessions, B2B meetings, and an exhibition space intended for entrepreneurs and institutions from the Three Seas regions. During the discussion panels, the issues of technological sovereignty, the development of the regional hydrogen market and the challenges posed by the green transformation were raised.
The organizer of the Local Government Congress of the Three Seas Economic Forum was the Local Government of the Lublin Voivodeship, and the co-organizers were the Institute for the Development of Territorial Local Government of the Lublin Voivodeship, the Center for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin and the Lublin Conference Center. The event took place under the Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland.
