Sahel Dialogue with Central and South-East Europe
The Connections Forum 2025 Budapest
Under the patronage of the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO
Navigating a New Sahel Order
Partnerships for Security, Resilience & Shared Growth
Date: Tuesday, 25 November 2025
Venue: Budapest Marriott Hotel (Apáczai Csere János u. 4, Budapest 1052)
The Sahel Dialogue with Central and South-East Europe - Connections Forum 2025 provides a trusted platform for candid, respectful dialogue between the Sahel and Central & South-East Europe at a pivotal time via involvement of diplomats, policymakers and representatives of businesses, academia and expert community. Building on last year’s momentum, this year’s edition focuses on practical mechanisms and contributions for partnerships: how to navigate evolving regional architectures; how to mobilize sustainable finance for energy and infrastructure; and how to leverage education, culture, sport to foster inclusion and growth. Aiming to deliver practical inputs for future partnerships, the sessions will not only highlight challenges but draw attention to good practices that could serve as bases for further considerations and solutions. By matching Sahel priorities with CSEE strengths — policy coordination, technical training, financing instruments and city-level networks — the Forum aims to support converting relationships into projects, reduce risks for investors and communities, and lay foundations for long-term stability and prosperity across both regions.
Working languages: Hungarian, English and French (simultaneous interpretation provided)
Dress code: Business attire
Participation is limited to a select audience. Attendance is complimentary, but registration is required.
Please reserve your seat by 23 November by registering here.
Agenda
08:30–09:00 — Registration
09:00–09:10 — Opening and welcoming remarks
Erik Molnár, Jr. General Director Gnosis Institute
Gábor Soós Secretary-General Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO
09:10–09:25 — Keynote speech |“Hungary/CSEE in a New Sahel Order — credible cooperation for 2025–27”
Amb. László Eduárd Máthé Special Envoy for the Sahel, Hungary
09:25–10:55 — Ambassadorial Panel | “Sahelian Regional Cooperation in Transition”
The first panel of the Forum will focus on the current political and economic dynamics within the Sahel region and in its wider neighbourhood and provide implications for regional mobility, trade and diplomacy. The speakers will also shed light on the future of external security partnerships and the European engagement as well as how the countries of the region could react to the crises in a coordinated manner.
Speakers:
H.E. Mr. Siddig Mohamed Abdalla Mohamed, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to Hungary
H.E. Mr. Adel Talbi, Ambassador of Algeria in Budapest
Ambassador László Eduárd Máthé, Special Envoy for the Sahel, Hungary
France Mutombo, President, Foundation for Africa
Ms. Heiba Mohamed Suliman Mohamed, First Secretary, Embassyof the Republic of Sudan to Hungary
Moderator:Tamás Baranyi, Director for Strategy, Board Member, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
10:55–11:15 — Coffee break
11:15–12:30 — Panel 2 |Transformation, Innovation & Sustainability in a Turbulent International and Security Context
In this session, the speakers of the panel will share their thoughts and experience regarding economic transformation in the Sahel region, including sectors like energy and infrastructure. What are the prospects of Global Gateway projects and where private capital is likely to contribute to the development of infrastructure in the region? The discussion will also highlight challenges and how they could be addressed with a better use of innovation which could not only advance economic progress but ensure the implementation of the principle of sustainability. The panel will also provide a wider view on the security and international context in which this transformation process should proceed and bring results.
Speakers:
Jaouad Mohamed Malzi, Non-resident Research Fellow (in Marocco), African Studies Centre, Metropolitan University Prague
Chigozie Nweke-Eze, Visiting Fellow, Africa programme, European Council on Foreign Relations
Danilo Babić, Research Fellow, Institute of International Politics and Economics, Serbia
Abderrahmane Abdelkader, Advisory Expert, Upinion, The Netherlands
Moderator: Erik Molnár, Jr., General Director of Gnosis Institute
12:30–13:30 — Networking Lunch
13:30–13:45 — Presentation by Melinda Gitta Szeles, Sahel Region Director, Hungary Helps
13:45–14:30 — Panel 3 | Positive Spillovers of Non-traditional Couplings
This session will highlight how grassroot and non-traditional cooperation initiatives can build trust and enhance local human potential where politics are complicated and resources are limited. Examples will show how sport can facilitate peacebuilding and strengthen local communities. The speakers will also draw attention to the positive spillover effects of these initiatives, including the promotion of social inclusion, reconciliation and sustainability.
Speakers:
Gábor Gremsperger, Founder & CEO, Climate Action ESG Solutions Kft., Hungary
Tanya Kyriakiduo, President, A.S.T.E.R.I. NGO
Maxwell Nyamu, Communication and Sustainability Manager, ATHLETICS (Kenya) and Confederation of African Athletics
Moderator:Hanga Horváth-Sántha, Senior Research Fellow, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
14:30–14:50 — Coffee break
14:50–15:50 — Panel 4 |Education & Culture for the Future
The last session of the conference will be dedicated to the themes of education and culture. Beyond looking at on the current situation in the Sahel region, the session will also provide inputs how scholarship programmes can increase employability and create skills ecosystems in the region. The panel will also address the question what role education, research and cultural institutions can play in strengthening partnerships between the Sahel and CSEE regions and which areas can be identified as priorities from the perspective of the Sahel region.
Speakers:
Radu Musetescu, Professor, Department of International Business and Economics,Academy of Economic Studies, Romania
Zsolt Szirmai, Head of Unit for Bilateral Relations, Department for Stipendium Hungaricum, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
Jesutimilehin O. Akamo, Coordinator, Research and Policy Analysis Unit, Africa Peace and Security Programme, Institute for Peace and Security Studies
Bujar Luma, Executive Director, Center for Balkan Cooperation LOJA, North-Macedonia
Sándor Horváth, Project Leader,Hungarian Baptist Aid
Moderator: Anna Orosz, Head of Research, Gnosis Institute
15:50–16:00 — Closing remark
Erik Molnár, Jr., General Director of Gnosis Institute