Forum 2000 kicks off in Prague

The 26th edition of the Forum 2000 international conference, which focuses on threats to democracy and the response to them, kicked off in Prague on Wednesday. The central topic on the agenda is Ukraine, including a high-level conference on the situation in the country which will follow up on the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers that started on Tuesday. In The Forum for Ukraine, participants will discuss the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, the country's European perspectives, and the issue of investigating war crimes. Other items on the agenda are Chinese threats to Taiwan and the issue of building global democratic unity and solidarity.

The conference will be opened by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, with other speakers from Czech politics also attending. Many foreign guests are also participating, including Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer, as well as journalists, analysts, and human rights activists. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi plans to join remotely.

Forum 2000 was founded in 1997 by former Czech President Václav Havel, writer Elie Wiesel, and Japanese philanthropist Jóhei Sasakawa. Their intention was to provide a space for personalities from various fields to analyse the challenges of the new millennium.