The Atlantic Council Energy and Economic Forum is an annual initiative that brings top government and corporate leaders together to discuss Eurasia’s leading economic and energy challenges. The Forum aims to advance regional economic cooperation, investment and trade as well as develop the idea of community in the greater Black Sea area.
 

The Energy and Economic Forum is an initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center in cooperation with its partners in the region. It builds ongoing constructive relationships among the countries and businesses in the region between East-Central Europe and the Far East, while also linking them to major players from outside the region such as the United States, China, and the Gulf.
 

The 2011 Energy and Economic Forum wrapped up on Nov. 18, 2011 in Istanbul. Nearly 300 top-level business, government, and NGO leaders from thirty-five countries came together to discuss complex political, economic, energy, and business issues in, and affecting, the Eurasia region. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was a highlight of the Forum, using his keynote address to stress the need for common action to put pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to change his course in Syria.
 

The 2010 Energy and Economic Forum brought together government and business leaders to address current and emerging issues including energy security, economic growth, and regional identity. Two heads of government, eight regional ministers, and over three hundred others from business, government, academia, media, and other sectors of society participated. In all, twenty-nine countries were represented.
 

The 2009 Energy and Economic Forum was held in Bucharest, Romania, with the cooperation of the Romanian government.