We are meeting today to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Three Seas Initiative, an initiative that arose from the need for deeper integration, primarily economic and infrastructural, in our part of Europe—Central Europe, said the Polish president as he opened the plenary session.

Joint Declaration of the 10th Summit of the Three Seas Initiative >>>

– Our world is one of unrest and tension. Five Three Seas Initiative nations border Ukraine, which has suffered a brutal Russian invasion. A full–scale war is being waged in our own backyard by a ruthless and aggressive regime. A new security architecture is developing and the world as we know it is fading away. The 3SI in this new paradigm lets us address these difficulties by providing cooperation to create stability in an unstable world, said the President.

Andrzej Duda added that it is therefore no surprise that we are increasingly emphasizing the security dimension of our Initiative. – By this we mean the development of dual–use infrastructure, improving conditions for military mobility, cyber–security, as well as critical infrastructure protection, the President noted.

Today this project is our shared success, the outcome of the involvement of countries, entrepreneurs, experts and all those who believe in the potential of our part of Europe., he stressed.

Whole statement by the President >>

The summit was attended by:

  • Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria
  • Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania
  • Alar Karis, President of the Republic of Estonia
  • Bajram Begaj, President of the Republic of Albania
  • Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic
  • Jakov Milatović, President of Montenegro
  • Edgars Rinkēvičs, President of the Republic of Latvia
  • Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary
  • Peter Pellegrini, President of the Slovak Republic
  • Ilie Bolojan, acting President of Romania
  • Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia
  • Vladimir Bolea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova
  • Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine
  • Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic
  • Alenka Bratušek, Minister of Infrastructure of the Republic of Slovenia
  • Abdülkadir Uraloğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye
  • Nikolaus Marschik, Secretary–General and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria
  • Fernando Sampedro Marcos, Secretary of State for the European Union in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain
  • Tommy Joyce, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs
  • Viktor Elbling, Ambassador of Germany to Poland
  • Akira Kono, Ambassador of Japan to Poland
  • Cristina Lobillo Borrero, Head of Energy Platform Task Force in the Directorate–General for Energy of the European Commission.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky connected with the participants online.

In the afternoon, President Andrzej Duda, at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, summed up the meeting of heads of state and government at the 10th Summit of the Three Seas Initiative.

Discussions focused on future investments within the 3SI co–operation format, including the development of energy and transport infrastructure, as well as security issues for the countries in our region.

I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the development of this initiative over these ten years: heads of state, heads of government, ministers, as well as representatives of regional governments and business representatives, said the President of the Republic of Poland.

The President added that this year saw the biggest expansion of that cooperation forum to date with the addition of new members – Albania and Montenegro joined the Three Seas Initiative in the capacity of associated participating states, while Spain and Turkey became new strategic partners.

– I am glad that we have been able to discuss in particular the most important aspects of infrastructure development. I am also pleased that everyone emphasized the fact that this cooperation has worked so well over these ten years”, he stressed.

The President of the Republic of Poland recalled the infrastructure investments made through cooperation between the 3SI countries, citing the Via Carpatia road connection and the Rail Baltica railway connection as notable examples. He also highlighted the importance of energy projects in enhancing the security of countries in our region.

Today, we are implementing 140 projects within the framework of the 3SI, which belong to category of dual–use infrastructure projects. The President explained that the such infrastructure serves dual purposes: it is intended for everyday use by ordinary people in our countries, and it also has a second function in creating a security system.

Andrzej Duda has expressed his satisfaction with the signing of a bridge agreement for the construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant during the visit of US Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright. The construction of the Lubiatowo–Kopalino nuclear power plant in Pomerania is to be carried out in cooperation with American partners.

– I do hope that the investment will be implemented without obstacles in the future and that we will complete in time this venture which is one of the most important tasks for energy security, the President noted.

He went on to say that the construction of the nuclear power plant would ensure continuity of the electric energy supply to Poland and, prospectively, to our neighbours.

At the close of the conference, the Polish President indicated his intention to convene the session of the National Security Council in the near future to discuss the security of the Polish energy system with representatives of the Polish political scene.

President Andrzej Duda also thanked the leaders of the Three Seas Initiative countries for their fruitful cooperation and expressed his hope for the continuation of the forum's cooperation in the future.

– Next year's Summit will again be hosted by Croatia. I would like to thank Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for accepting this chairmanship. I wish my colleagues – the Heads of State and Government of the Three Seas Initiative countries – every success in further developing this initiative, in furthering the capacities of our countries, the President concluded.

This year, Poland commemorates the millennium of the coronation of its first Kings. On this occasion, the Spear of Saint Maurice was presented to the attendees of the Three Seas Initiative Summit.

This medieval ceremonial spear is regarded as the earliest known symbol of power used by the Piast dynasty's Polish rulers. The spear Emperor Otto III gave to Prince Bolesław the Brave at the Congress of Gniezno (1000) along with a fragment of the nail from the True Cross as a token of his acknowledgement of the Polish prince's sovereign authority. To this day, only the spearhead remains, meticulously conserved in the Krakow Cathedral's treasury. Under extraordinary circumstances, this priceless exhibit was shown today in Poland's capital.

The Initiative initially brought together 12 EU participating states: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In 2023, this group was enlarged upon Greece and now includes 13 participating countries and 2 associated participating countries – Ukraine and Moldova. The strategic partners of the Three Seas Initiative are United States, Japan, European Commission and Germany.

During the current summit, Montenegro and Albania officially joined the Initiative as associated participating countries, and Türkiye and Spain as strategic partners.

The establishment of the Three Seas Initiative was initiated by the Presidents of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and Croatia, Kolinda Grabar–Kitarović, during a meeting of the leaders of the countries of the region on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2015. That year is considered the beginning of the Three Seas Cooperation, while the first summit of the initiative was held in Dubrovnik in 2016.