Croatia to host regional leaders at Three Seas Summit in Dubrovnik next week

Croatia will host the Three Seas Summit and Business Forum next week, bringing together regional leaders and global partners in Dubrovnik from April 27 to 30.

The gathering of countries between the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic Seas will convene 24 high-level delegations, including heads of state and government from the initiative’s 13 member states. Security will be tight, with special traffic regulations in place.

As the initiative enters its second decade, Croatia aims to strengthen its financial dimension, the government said on Friday ahead of the summit.

Launched by Croatia and Poland in 2016, the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) initially focused on improving connectivity along the so-called “neglected” north-south axis of Europe. While east-west links are well developed, north-south infrastructure has lagged behind. Today, the initiative’s focus is increasingly on investment.

Romana Vlahutin, Croatia’s national coordinator for the initiative, said around one trillion euros is needed for the region to reach Western European levels of infrastructure connectivity—an investment gap that cannot be closed through public funding alone.

To address this, Croatia is once again bringing together European and global business leaders to help mobilize private capital for key connectivity projects.

The United States will be represented by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, underscoring the initiative’s growing transatlantic dimension, according to Dino Mihanović, an adviser to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The government is expected to sign around a dozen agreements during the summit, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, technology, taxation, and energy.

In an interview with the Hina news agency, US Ambassador Nicole McGraw said agreements on US investment in artificial intelligence are expected, along with a deal on a gas interconnection between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina involving American investors.

The summit and business forum are hosted by the Croatian government, with Prime Minister Plenković chairing the event. He is scheduled to meet first with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who is attending as a special guest.

Other participants include heads of state and government from Austria, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. The Speaker of the Estonian Parliament and Slovenia’s Deputy Prime Minister are also expected to attend.