State Secretary Melita Gabrič attends Global Gateway in Brussels

State Secretary Dr Melita Gabrič | Author Ministrstvo za zunanje in evropske zadeve

The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Josef Sikela, together with the European Commissioners Marta Kos and Dubravka Šuica, presented the current status of the Global Gateway strategy, which aims to enhance the EU's economic and geopolitical position within the international community. The strategy encompasses investments in infrastructure projects across the digital sector, climate and energy, transport, health, education and research. To mobilise these investments, 300 billion euros has been allocated for the current financial period, with particular emphasis on the private sector involvement.

State Secretary Gabrič underlined Slovenia's strong support for the Global Gateway initiative, which is set to bolster future investment and partnership prospects. "It is essential to increase the involvement of smaller Member States and SMEs. Europe and European companies are facing the challenges of a new geopolitical and geo-economic reality. To establish mutually beneficial partnerships around the world, we must unite, remove internal administrative barriers and pool our resources and efforts within a framework of clear strategic objectives."

The second Global Gateway Forum brought together more than two thousand leading representatives from governments, financial institutions, businesses and civil society organisations to discuss innovative strategies for increasing Global Gateway investments in partner countries. This year, particular emphasis was placed on advanced global connectivity.

A new Global Gateway investment hub was launched at the Forum to serve as a single point of entry and intermediary for EU companies, providing assistance with investment projects in partner countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Americas and the Caribbean. A national team - Team Slovenia - is also being established in Slovenia as the first point of entry and evaluator for national projects within this hub. These projects will subsequently be considered by the European Commission in cooperation with EU partners (Team Europe) with the aim of preparing the best EU-aligned integrated proposals.

The two-day Forum features high-level panels and thematic workshops. Slovenian representatives will take part in the discussion on establishing the EU-LAC Supercomputing Network. Several agreements will be signed at the event, including a joint declaration of intent to strengthen the Network. The declaration will be signed by the supercomputing centres and Izum in the presence of the countries concerned, including Slovenia.

According to State Secretary Gabrič, Slovenia will "be pleased to cooperate with the European Commission and the Member States in upgrading and implementing the Global Gateway strategy, which is becoming a unified EU external economic tool." Global Gateway will also be one of the key topics at the 13th Slovenian Development Days, which will take place from 14 to 17 October. This year's event will focus on integrating the economy into development cooperation.