The second edition of the Global Gateway Forum will take place on 9-10 October 2025 in Brussels. Building on the success of the inaugural Forum in 2023, which highlighted the European Union’s external investment initiatives, this year’s event will focus on advancing global connectivity in the face of geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges.
See the background paper Partnerships in a Geopolitical Era: Time for a New Strategic Conversation prepared by our partners Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, Clingendael Institute and Egmont Institute.
The Forum will bring together high-level representatives from governments, financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society to explore innovative strategies for scaling up Global Gateway investments in partner countries.
We invite you to mark your calendar to follow discussions on the future of sustainable and resilient global partnerships.
Please note that onsite attendance is by invitation only, but all plenary and thematic sessions will be streamed live.
Programme
* Programme is subject to change.
See the detailed indicative programme (PDF)
Day 1 – Thursday 9 October 2025
State of the world
- 08:00-09:00
Registrations and welcome breakfast
- 09:00-09:20Keynote speech by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
- 09:20-11:00Statements by heads of state and government
- 11:00-11:30Signature ceremonies
- 11:30-12:00
Coffee break
- 12:00-12:30Networking / Bilateral meetings
- 12:30-14:00
Lunch
- 14:00-15:30Panel on the State of the World
- 15:30-16:00
Coffee break
- 16:00-17:30Panel on Looking at Connectivity through a Geostrategic Lens
- 17:30-19:00
Networking reception
- 19:00
High-level dinner hosted by Commissioner Síkela (by invitation only)
- 08:30-09:00
Welcome coffee
- 09:00-10:30
- Panel on Strategising Partnerships – Global
- Panel on Strategising Partnerships – Mediterranean region
- Panel on Strategising Partnerships – Enlargement region
- 10:30-11:00
Coffee break
- 11:00-12:30
- Thematic session 1 – Driving Sustainable and Strategic Transport Connectivity
- Thematic session 2 – Two Sides of the Same Coin: Energy Security and Industrial Competitiveness in the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy
- Thematic session 3 – Geopolitics of Digital Connectivity: A Shared Quest for Sovereignty
- 12:30-14:00
Lunch
- 14:00-15:30
- Scale-up sessions – Global Gateway Flagship Projects (by invitation only)
- Connectivity Interrupted – The Security Dimension
- Getting to Business with Global Gateway
- 15:30-16:00
Coffee break
Separate side event
In the margins of the Global Gateway Forum, the 3rd EU-Caribbean Global Gateway conference on Sargassum will be held on 8 October in Brussels (by invitation only). The separate side event organised under the theme "Beyond the Tide: Practical approaches to Sargassum response" will provide pragmatic follow-up to the ongoing efforts for creating sustainable value chains for Sargassum in the framework of the Global Gateway strategy and give a push to approaches and operations, in strategic and financial terms.
What is Global Gateway?
Global Gateway is the European Union's strategy to boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.
Global Gateway is fully aligned with the UN’s Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris Agreement.
Global Gateway aims to mobilise up to €300 billion in investments.