Three Seas Initiative Summit in Dubrovnik

APRIL/28/2026

President Karol Nawrocki takes part in the 11th Three Seas Initiative Summit hold in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Poland serves as both a founding member and a staunch advocate of this Initiative; I view it as a cornerstone of Europe’s competitiveness and the driving force behind Transatlantic cooperation, the President emphasized.

Karol Nawrocki pointed out that the Three Seas’ region is one of the fastest–growing world–wide. “It is a market that generates a total of 2 trillion euros annually, which accounts for nearly 20% of the European Union’s GDP. Together – all 13 countries – we form the world’s 7th largest economy,” he noted during a joint press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini.

As the President underscored, the attractiveness of this part of Europe is also corroborated by the fact that interest in investments in the Three Seas Initiative countries is growing year in, year out. “This reflects not only trade volumes within the Three Seas Initiative countries, but also strong global interest,” he said.

We are a dynamically developing, technologically advanced region, a region inhabited by well–educated people ready to conquer markets around the world, and it is through the Three Seas Initiative that we advancing on the international arena, he said.

The President noted that Poland is going to participate in the G20 meeting this year.

Poland’s economic success, coupled with its invitation to the G20, provides an opportunity to represent the entire region, a role the Three Seas Initiative states were quick to endorse in their final declaration by designating Poland as the region’s representative at the G20 Summit. In Florida, we will deliver on these commitments, demonstrating the dynamism and continued growth of the Three Seas Initiative, he assured.

The President of Poland also emphasized that the potential for cooperation in our region includes collaboration with the United States of America.

Poland is ready to become the ‘northern gateway’ for American gas to the entire region, he noted.

He pointed out to the opportunities offered by the Baltic Sea, Polish terminals—in Świnoujście—and investments in a floating terminal in the Baltic.

As he noted, the Three Seas Initiative Summit made it clear that the United States is a strategic, important partner, both in the military and economic terms.

– I also hope that we will have the determination and courage to move forward with the debate on establishing a Three Seas Development Bank, said Karol Nawrocki. He assessed that it is high time to begin discussions on the creation of infrastructure financing mechanisms centred around a Three Seas Development Bank.

Referring to the Three Seas Initiative Business Forum accompanying the Summit, the President of Poland noted that the Polish delegation is the second largest, following the Croatian one.

He emphasized that thriving Polish companies are present here to establish contacts and build our region’s economy. – The political framework established around the Three Seas Initiative over ten years ago, which we maintain today, is being filled with concrete tasks by investors, institutions, entrepreneurs, and businesspeople, he said.

Polish companies are also setting new trends within the framework of Three Seas cooperation, he noted.

The President also met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, who was attending the Summit. Their conversation centred on the strengthening Polish–American cooperation in the area of energy security.

Marcin Przydacz, Head of the Presidential  International Policy Bureau, stated that the conversation focused primarily on energy cooperation, not only with Poland but with the entire Central and Eastern European region. “It is no secret that Poland is interested in sharing its experience in diversifying energy supply sources with other countries in the region,” the Minister told reporters in Dubrovnik.

He noted that there are still countries that continue to be supplied with energy from the East. “President Karol Nawrocki has urged the Slovak and Hungarian leaderships, among others, to change their approach,” he said.

“I hope that, with the help of a sufficiently attractive offer from the U.S., a turn–around in this policy may occur, but for this to happen, the necessary infrastructure must be in place—transmission infrastructure, interconnectors, and LNG terminals,” he noted. “We hope that Poland can serve as such a gateway for energy security,” the Minister said.

The Three Seas Initiative was launched by the Presidents of Poland and Croatia, Andrzej Duda and Kolinda Grabar–Kitarović, during a meeting of regional leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2015. That year is considered the beginning of Three Seas cooperation, while the Initiative’s inaugural Summit took place in Dubrovnik in 2016.

The Initiative brings together 13 EU member states: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary. Strategic partners include the United States, Japan, Germany, the European Commission, Turkey, and Spain, while associated countries participating in the Initiative are Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, and Montenegro. During the Summit in Dubrovnik, Italy joined the Initiative as a strategic partner.

SOURCE: https://www.president.pl