On 12 July 2017 Italy hosted in Trieste the fourth Summit of the Western Balkans (initiative launched in 2014 in order to encourage the stabilization of the region and the prospects of European integration).
The Summit included three political work sessions (Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Economic Development), a plenary meeting and four events at its margins (on firms, youth, anticorruption and civil society). Moreover, ICE (the Italian Agency which promotes the internationalization of Italian enterprises) and Confindustria (General Confederation of Italian industry) organized a Business Forum, which was also sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Minister of the Economic Development Calenda invited, among others, the Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), the German Rolf Wenzel, who delivered his speech within the panel of the financial instruments of the Forum.
The CEB delegation was also composed by the Italian Deputy Governor Carlo Monticelli and two other managers of the Bank. Finally, the CEB Governor Wenzel participated in the working lunch which opened the meeting of the Ministers of Industry, dedicated to the themes of the economic development, investments and connectivity.
