The Global Gateway Forum: Change through connection and resilience

Collaboration is key to discovery and change. The first Global Gateway Forum enabled connections to be made between different stakeholders. It took place in October 2023 in Brussels, welcoming government representatives from more than 20 countries, financial institutions and business and civil society representatives. Attendees gathered to discuss global investment needs, consider solutions and forge new partnerships. At the Forum investments were committed and new partnerships were announced. Global Gateway is Europe’s international investment programme, which seeks to strengthen connections in links in digital, energy and transport sectors and enhance health, education and research systems across the world. It is at the foundation of the Forum, which provides the setting to showcase progress in the Global Gateway strategy. As Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated in her State of the Union address in September 2021, the Global Gateway strategy is ‘a template for how Europe can build more resilient connections with the world’. The aim of the strategy is to secure €300 billion in investments by 2027 to support sustainable projects to push towards global resilience and equity. von der Leyen mentioned key advancements in 90 projects launched in 2023 spanning different sectors. At the Forum, impactful discussions were sparked between leaders about key challenges facing diverse sectors, including green energy, critical raw materials, transport corridors and education. The theme of the Forum was ‘Stronger together through Sustainable Investment’.