Conferences such as this one are valuable for policymakers to reflect on the region’s current vulnerabilities and to discuss new avenues for growth. Today, we have with us a distinguished guest who, through her leadership of the IMF, her experience as Minister of the Economy and Finance and former Chair of the G20, will undoubtedly bring valuable ideas and new insights to this conference.
Please give a warm welcome to Christine Lagarde. 1 The CESEE region comprises Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia,  Hungary, Kosovo (this designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence), Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.