GLOBSEC bringing political leaders and security experts to Prague this week

Petr Pavel|Photo: GLOBSEC

This year’s edition of GLOBSEC Forum, held under the auspices of Czech President Petr Pavel, will host a large number of ministers from Europe and beyond, as well as heads of state and representatives of major global companies.

Dominika Hajdu, GLOBSEC director for policy and programming, names some of the most significant guests.

Dominika Hajdu|Photo: GLOBSEC

“Definitely the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. For me also, as a woman, they are two very inspirational leaders. I also personally look forward to several ministers of defence, such as Sweden’s, Pal Jonson, who will be able to drive the discussions forward. And also the Polish minister of defence and minister of foreign affairs, who are also very inspirational in these challenging times.”

At a presentation of the 2026 GLOBSEC Forum on Monday, CEO Daniel Braun pointed out that many captains of industry will also be attending.

“I think given the context, it’s not possible to dissociate security and economy. It’s all one concept of resilience, to be able to withstand the challenges of the future. So it’s absolutely necessary for us to have political and business leaders around one table – because the solutions to these challenges will only come from the cooperation of the private and public sectors.”

Among the reports to be presented at the conference at the Hilton Hotel will be a yearly GLOBSEC look at NATO’s Eastern Flank. Dominika Hajdu offers a small preview of its conclusions.

“In the Annual Battle Readiness Report, we are assessing the ability of the 10 countries of the NATO Eastern Flank to respond to any security crisis and the readiness to go into battle, basically. So we are looking into political aspects, military capabilities, military mobility and cyber readiness. And one of the findings is that much depends on the ability to react quickly from the political perspective. So to what extent the governments are able to decide quickly to mobilise, to send soldiers, and also to have mechanisms to protect society.”

Alongside the usual distinguished panels, this year the Forum will also offer a sidebar in conjunction with a well-known international political news outlet. Daniel Braun explains.

Source: GLOBSEC

“Politico Speakeasy is a new format where, together with Politico, we will have discussions with the main speakers, but in an informal setting. That will allow for a much more focused and honest conversation with them about power, about economy, about politics.”

GLOBSEC was based in Slovakia for nearly two decades but has now moved to Prague. Dominika Hajdu, who was part of the team in Bratislava, says that has brought advantages.

“For GLOBSEC it was a major improvement. We have been able to attract more high-level representatives and greater representation from across the world. We are able to have more participants, more relevant people, come to the Forum. Also Prague is beautiful and we love being here.”