50th World Economic Forum in Davos: the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, officially opens the Polish House by PZU and Pekao

The Polish House in Davos was opened officially today by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda. For the second time, PZU and Pekao have arranged a special space devoted to the promotion of Poland, its economy and the entire Three Seas Region. This year’s leitmotiv of the Polish House is #GrowingEurope, reflecting investment development and potential of the region. Debates and panels held in the Polish House attended by leading experts from the world of politics and economy will be dominated by the issues of growth and promotion of this part of Europe.

For already the second time, PZU and Pekao will be present in Davos during the key meeting of international business and political leaders with their Polish House. As in the previous year, the Polish House – PZU and Pekao’s joint initiative – is located in the very centre of the Davos conference at 58 Promenade.

Panels, discussions and debates will be held under the motto of #GrowingEurope, raising the issues of maintaining the high growth pace of the 11 CEE states, which account for 20% of current economic growth of the entire EU, as well as regional cooperation within, for instance, the Three Seas Initiative, which promotes international transport and digital connections as well as energy networks in this part of Europe.

Upon opening the Polish House in Davos, President Andrzej Duda said that the initiative fulfilled an idea he had been supporting strongly from the very beginning, of which he was particularly proud. "This place proves that we are present and visible in the world. I feel all the more happy that its organization was undertaken by PZU and Bank Pekao. Here, we will jointly show the power of the Three Seas region to the global investors," said President Andrzej Duda.

Guests of the Polish House will discuss, amongst others, how to provide optimal conditions for the development of enterprises in technologically-advanced industries in order to tap into the potential of 30,000 start-ups in the CEE market of 100 million people.

Contributors of PZU and Pekao’s debates will also consider the new development model for the region in the light of slow mitigation of simple competitive edges of Poland and CEE, such as cheaper labour force or inflow of EU development funds. They will seek to answer the question of how to make our region close the gap to the richest countries in terms of digital economy and state-of-the-art technologies, taking into account the fact that investments in R&D-GDP ratio for this region is today still only half the Western Europe average.

“We are opening the Polish House in Davos already for the second time. The initiative is important for the promotion of Polish economic achievements. It is also a perfect opportunity to meet and discuss the future economic cooperation, both, in this part of Europe as well as in the entire EU. Finally, it’s a key venue for Polish companies, which are building their international position, to meet with the international world of business, politics and science,” commented Paweł Surówka, PZU CEO.

“I hope that the Polish House has already become a fixed element of the Davos landscape, and that together with PZU we will continue to be very active during the World Economic Forum in the years to come, welcoming numerous outstanding entrepreneurs, economists and leaders. This year, we will focus together on how to maintain the high speed of the economic development of Poland and the region in the face of new challenges arising from Industry 4.0 or general digitalization,” said Marek Lusztyn, Pekao CEO.

“We’re here, in Davos, also for the Polish companies which have been building the success of Poland in recent years. As Bank Pekao, we want to be their guide and provide them with financial support in the international markets they are entering to gain international experience and be able to compete more effectively in the globalized world,” he continued.

Besides the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish House will welcome this year renowned economists, including Professor Nouriel Roubini, representatives of international corporations and consulting companies (e.g. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, McKinsey, Deloitte), think-tanks (e.g. Atlantic Council), Polish entrepreneurs as well as Polish and international journalists.

The World Economic Forum in Davos is one of the most important meetings of the representatives of business and politics. It brings together CEOs of the biggest companies, heads of public good organisations, intellectuals and scientists. It is attended by majority of presidents and prime ministers representing most developed countries in the world. Overall, each year the Forum is visited by ca. 3,000 representatives from 110 countries. This year, the Forum will celebrate its anniversary 50^th edition.

This year’s leading topics of the World Economic Forum include: climate change and its impact on the environment and economy, more sustainable business models in the world of new trade and consumption standards, Industry 4.0 as well as demographic, social and technological changes influencing education, employment and entrepreneurship.