The Eastern Economic Congress in Białystok – A Summary

Białystok/Katowice, 6 October 2014 – Over 1,000 participants, 30 thematic sessions with the participation of 100 speakers, nearly 200 representatives of the media, 1500 publications and an advertising value equivalent reaching PLN four million. PTWP Group, the organiser of the Eastern Economic Congress in Białystok, summarises the largest debate on the economy of Eastern Poland.

The Guest of Honour of the Eastern Economic Congress – Bronisław Komorowski, President of the Republic of Poland, emphasised that Eastern Poland constitutes an enormous development opportunity: ‘Here and now, in Białystok, I have the possibility of taking part in the debate and hear the opinions about something which constitutes an element of a great and wise, yet not an easy change that has continued to take place in Poland for the last 25 years, and which concerns its eastern part as well.’

The Eastern Economic Congress in Białystok (18-19 September 2014) attracted over a thousand participants from Poland, as well as from Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova and other European countries – politicians, business representatives and experts. During the two days of the Congress, 30 thematic sessions took place with the participation of over 100 speakers.

‘Eastern Poland is no longer a problem from the point of view of the rest of the country. It has already become an opportunity, owing to the fact that it is here that some totally new conditions for development are being created,’ said Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament between 2009-2012 and Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland between 1997-2001, assuming the perspective of the Member of the European Parliament.

The scale of the Eastern Economic Congress is best expressed by the number of publications related to the event, as well as by the advertising value equivalent reaching PLN four million, i.e. an amount that should be spent on an equivalent EEC advertising space and air time for EEC commercials. Only two weeks have passed since the Eastern Economic Congress ended and the number of news messages has already hit about half a thousand.

Over 200 journalists representing about 50 editorial offices worked during the Eastern Economic Congress 2014 on the preparation of television, press, radio and online coverage of the event.

‘Such an event as the Eastern Economic Congress has to come at the right time in order for it to be able to count on a proper response and fulfil its role. Our meeting of decision-makers, experts, practitioners and opinion leaders has brought the best possible promotional outcome – the Congress in Białystok has been widely discussed, both in Poland and abroad, in the speech of its participants and through media coverage,’ said Wojciech Kuśpik, Initiator of the Eastern Economic Congress and Chairman of the Board of PTWP Group.

A large proportion of the participants in the Eastern Economic Congress were people from outside Białystok and the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Hotels, taxi companies and restaurants were positively affected at the time during which the Congress took place in the city.

‘The results of such events as the Eastern Economic Congress include an improvement in the attractiveness of both the city and the region in the eyes of potential investors. During the two days of debates, meetings and accompanying events, each participant had numerous opportunities to do a lot of business talks, all in one place. The possibility of meeting people and a representative circle of participants – these were some of the most precious values of the Congress,’ added Wojciech Kuśpik.

The Eastern Economic Congress in Białystok was the arena of one of the most representative debates on the future of Eastern Poland. The main arguments of speeches delivered by the most important participants are still being widely discussed and the lobby talks done during the Congress keep inspiring organisations, institutions and entrepreneurs to take specific actions.

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Bronisław Komorowski, President of the Republic of Poland, was the Guest of Honour of the Eastern Economic Congress 2014 in Białystok. The attendees of the event also included: Ilona Antoniszyn-Klik – Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Poland; Jerzy Buzek – Member of the European Parliament, President of the European Parliament between 2009-2012, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland between 1997-2001; Stanisław Ciosek – Chairman, Polsko-Rosyjska Izba Handlowo-Przemysłowa (Polish-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Member of the Council of Ambassadors, European Academy of Diplomacy, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Moscow between 1989-1996; Olgierd Dziekoński – Secretary of State, Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland; Jacek Kapica – Undersecretary of State, Head of Customs Service, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Poland; Erich Kieck – Director, Capacity Building, World Customs Organization; Anatoliy Makarenko – Head, State Customs Service of Ukraine; Jaroslav Neverovič – Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania between 2012-2014; Janusz Steinhoff – Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy between 1997-2001; and Antanas Śipavićius – Director-General, Lithuanian Customs Department, Customs of the Republic of Lithuania.

The subject matter of the Eastern Economic Congress covered both a new deal in the European policy and the future of Europe in its relations with the East and the development issues of Eastern Poland, which are related to this background – from large infrastructure investments to the prospects for renewable energy industry, to detailed market analyses – including the agriculture and food market and the medical services market.

The group of persons who shared their knowledge and experience during the Eastern Economic Congress included: Rafał Antczak – Member of the Board, Deloitte Business Consulting SA; Dariusz Blocher – Chairman of the Board, Director-General, Budimex SA; Leszek Gołąbiecki – Chairman of the Board, Unibep; Robert Gwiazdowski – President, Adam Smith Center; Dariusz Kacprzyk – Chairman of the Board, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego; Robert Karczewski – Chairman of the Board, Korczowa Dolina; Bożena Lublińska-Kasprzak – Chairman of the Board, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development; Witold Karczewski – Chairman of the Board, Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Białystok; Henryk Majchrzak – Chairman of the Board, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne SA; Sławomir Majman – Chairman of the Board, Polska Agencja Informacji i Inwestycji Zagranicznych SA (Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency); Mirosław Maliszewski – President, Związek Sadowników RP (Polish Fruit Growers Association); Dariusz Poniewierka – Chairman of the Board, Korporacja Ubezpieczeń Kredytów Eksportowych SA (Export Credits Insurance Corporation); Krzysztof Sadowski – Chairman of the Board, ENEA Wytwarzanie; Monika Siecińska-Jaworowska – Chairman of the Board, Suempol; Artūras Vilimas – Chairman of the Board, LitPol Link; and Dariusz Żuk – Chairman of the Board, Polska Przedsiębiorcza (Entrepreneurial Poland).

An event accompanying the Eastern Economic Congress was the conferring of awards in the contest entitled TOP Municipal Investments of Eastern Poland. The popularity contest indicated municipal investments that have contributed the most to the development of the economy, region and inhabitants of Eastern Poland in the last ten years.

The Eastern Economic Congress in Białystok – a debate on economic and trade relations between the European Union and the East of Europe – provides a logical follow-up to, and a completion of, the subject matter of the previous editions of the European Economic Congress in Katowice held so far. Both business conferences are organised by PTWP Group.

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The Eastern Economic Congress (EEC) in Białystok is a two-day series of debates, meetings and accompanying events with the participation of about a thousand guests, both from Poland and from Europe.

The organiser of the Eastern Economic Congress is PTWP Group SA, the initiator and organiser of the European Economic Congress in Katowice – the largest business conference in Central Europe, which has been organised since 2009 and deemed one of the most representative debates on the future of Europe.

For further information on the Eastern Economic Congress, please visit – www.wschodnikongres.eu/pl/.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WschodniKongresGospodarczy 

For further information on the organiser – PTWP Group SA – please visit www.ptwp.pl

Additional information for the media can be obtained from:

Marta Stach, Imago Public Relations,

M. 609 808 119, E. m.stach@imagopr.pl