estoring trust in international relations is the central topic of the two-day event and will extend into the business section of the forum, as the Business BSF gets underway in the morning.

Cooperation in SE Europe and trade with India will be at the heart of the discussions featuring over 100 participants, including the presidents of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), Suma Chakrabarti and Werner Hoyer, as central guests.

As part of the business debates, an award will be presented for the best proposal crafted in a business case competition held in the run-up to the forum during the Young BSF, an event catering to future leaders.

The business BSF will run in parallel to the political section of the forum, which will see debates on demographic change, cooperation in Central Europe, cybersecurity and one of the staples of the BSF, a panel on the latest developments in the Western Balkans.

The deliberations on the Western Balkans will feature foreign ministers from Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia and officials from Slovenia, Italy, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the US.

The forum's organisers, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry and the Centre for European Perspective, have put the various sections side by side to allow greater interaction among the participants, highlighting that such networking was a major draw for business.

In one of the novelties for this year, a standalone event dedicated to global tourism will open a new focus theme for the BSF. "The Power of Tourism" debate is expected to feature as many as 200 participants from around the world debating topical industry issues.

The two-day forum featuring some 500 participants from politics, business, academia and NGOs from 65 countries got underway on Monday with a debate on global leadership and opening addresses from senior Slovenian officials.