Gateways to Growth: Infrastructure & Transport Perspectives in Central Eastern Europe

Day 1 – Key Infrastructure and Transport Issues in the K8'1 Region

08:30 Registration

09:00 Opening Remarks

Péter Lánczi (Deputy Director General, MCC)

09:10 Keynote Address

Péter Siklósi (Senior Research Fellow, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs; former Deputy State Secretary for Defense Policy and Defense Planning)

09:40 Industry Leader Presentation

István Sárhegyi (Chairman & CEO, 4iG Space and Defence)

10:00 MCC Research Presentation

Péter Pál Palkó (Researcher, Center for Business Studies, MCC)

10:20 Coffee Break

10:40 Panel I – Building Resilient Regional Defense Value Chains: Securing Raw Materials, Critical Components, and Sovereignty

Dávid Klacsmann (Head of Strategy, HM EI Zrt.) Łukasz Wojdyga (Director of Center for Strategic Studies, Warsaw Enterprise Institute) Host: Ákos Zulik (Senior Lecturer, Head of CEE Connectivity Hub, MCC)

11:30 Panel II – Capabilities & Competitiveness of Defense Manufacturing in CEE vs. Western Alternatives

Gyula Pomázi (former Deputy State Secretary for Industrial Strategy and Economic Regulation) Zoltán Póser (CEO, N7 Holding Zrt.) Zsolt Zsebe (Business Development Manager, 4iG Space and Defence) Szidónia Petruska (Senior Research Fellow, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs) Host: Tamás Bernáth (Senior Lecturer, Center for Business Studies, MCC)

12:20 Networking Lunch

13:20 Industry Expert Presentation

Ármin Ladányi (Managing Director; EU Office, HypeX Consulting)

13:40 Panel III – New Technologies of Defense: Drones, Cybersecurity, AI

Tomasz Szlązak (Defence Sector Supervisory Director, Sygnis) Marek Michalewicz (Founder, Siranga) Host: Péter Pál Palkó (Researcher, Center for Business Studies, MCC)

14:30 Closing remarks – Durable Peace Lies on Central European Connectivity

Ákos Zulik (Senior Lecturer, Head of CEE Connectivity Hub, MCC)