The Budapest Eurasia Forum will be organised again by Magyar Nemzeti Bank, the central bank of Hungary (MNB), in a format of an E-Conference on October 27th, 2020, with the Shanghai Forum and the Fudan Development Institute as supporting partners. The E-Conference is the next event of the Budapest Eurasia Forum event series, launched in 2019.

The intensifying cooperation between Europe and Asia, the increasing role of China on the international stage and the resulting economic and geopolitical shift, and the expanding cooperation possibilities among the countries of Eurasia are among the most intriguing questions of our times. The Budapest Eurasia Forum event series intends to examine these topics on a yearly basis and generate a comprehensive professional dialogue for the sake of supporting transcontinental partnerships.

In the recent years, the MNB’s international relations have extended and deepened significantly, in line with its aim of creating a renewed external strategy based on balanced focus on the East and the West. China has become a key partner in this regard, and the evolving partnership resulted in many successful projects between MNB and its Chinese partners. The MNB considers it crucial that international discussion on economic growth should go beyond central banks, therefore it is actively broadening its network with academic institutions as well. Fudan University is among the most important partners of MNB from the academic world, and there are several examples that highlight the successful partnership between the two institutions: the MNB has organised the Shanghai Forum Pre-Session twice (the latter took place as part of the Pre-Forum Session of the Budapest Eurasia Forum in 2019) and hosted a panel discussion three times during the Shanghai Forum in the recent years; in 2017 the two institutions reaffirmed their commitment to the joint work by signing a Memorandum of Understanding and in February 2019 Fudan University and the Corvinus University of Budapest have launched a Double Degree MBA program with the support of MNB. The future of the cooperation seems just as fruitful as its past: Fudan University plans to establish its first campus outside of China in Budapest and high-level exchanges remain important despite the restrictions caused by the COVID-19.

The upcoming Budapest Eurasia Forum 2020 E-Conference creates a great occasion for the two institutions to join forces, as the event represents a high-level platform for a meaningful and in-depth conversation. Given the shared values of MNB and Fudan, the Shanghai Forum and the Fudan Development Institute are both joined the supporting partners of the Budapest Eurasia Forum, whereas Mr Li Jin, Executive Vice President and Mr. Chen Zhimin, Vice President of Fudan University will join the discussions during the professional programme.

Supporting partners of the Forum also include the Singapore FinTech Festival.

The Budapest Eurasia Forum event series intends to serve as high level professional platform for academics, decision-makers, and business leaders from across Eurasia. The forum-series reflects to MNB’s efforts towards increasing its involvement in the international dialogue and enhance the professional cooperation among various members of the economic community. The Pre-Forum Session of the Budapest Eurasia Forum was successfully organised in October 2019 with the participation of high-ranking experts from China, Russia, Singapore, and Kazakhstan, among others.

The E-Conference of 2020 will be organised in a digital format under the theme“Eurasian cooperation in the post-pandemic era” and it is planned to include a high-level opening ceremony, followed by 3 professional panels. The panel topics recall the core areas of the Forum concept, such as geopolitics, multilateral cooperation, finance, economics, innovation, education, and connectivity. The panel participants will discuss how the COVID-19 shapes the geopolitical landscape the multilateral cooperation, the challenges of ensuring long-term economic growth, and the pandemic’s impact on urban life and smart city developments.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

moderators

PROGRAMME

TUESDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2020

08:30-09:30（Budapest time）

High-level opening ceremony

Welcome speech:
György H MATOLCSY
Governor, Magyar Nemzeti Bank

Guest speakers:
Xiaochuan ZHOU
Vice Chairman, Boao Forum for Asia
Former Governor of PBOC
Péter SZIJJÁRTÓ
Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Hongbo WU
Special Representative of the Chinese Government on European Affairs

09:30-09:45（Budapest time）

Coffee break

PANEL 1. The rise of Eurasia – How COVID-19 may reshape geopolitics and multilateral cooperation

09:45-10:30（Budapest time）

Panel discussion

Moderator:
Mihály PATAI
Deputy Governor, Magyar Nemzeti Bank

Discussants:
Mehmet Huseyin BILGIN
Vice President, Eurasia Business and Economics Society
Zhimin CHEN
Vice President, Fudan University
Pierre HEILBRONN
Vice President of Policy and Partnerships, EBRD
Vladimir M. MOROZOV
Vice-President for HR and Associate Professor of Diplomacy at MGIMO University

10:30-10:40（Budapest time）

Coffee break

PANEL 2. Well-balanced and sustainable growth in Eurasia after COVID-19 – Changes, prospects and the future

10:45-11:15（Budapest time）

Keynote speech

Kyuil CHUNG
Deputy Governor, Bank of Korea
Qi ZHANG
Director General, Department of Foreign Economic Relations
Development Research Center of the State Council of China

11:15-12:00（Budapest time）

Panel discussion

Moderator:
Barnabás VIRÁG
Deputy Governor, Magyar Nemzeti Bank

Discussants:
Bofei HU
Deputy General Manager of International Business Department, China Construction Bank (tbc)
Danae KYRIAKOPOULOU
Chief Economist and Director of Research, OMFIF
Sopnendu MOHANTY
Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore
Changchun MU
Director General of the Institute of Digital Currency, People’s Bank of China (tbc)

12:00-12:10（Budapest time）

Coffee break

PANEL 3. Smart cities for a healthy future? Innovation in urbanisation and the importance of digital literacy

12:10-12:40（Budapest time）

Keynote speech

Jianduan JIANG
Director General, China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd.
China State Construction and Engineering Corporation
Eng Chye TAN
President, National University of Singapore

12:40-13:25（Budapest time）

Panel discussion

Moderator:
Norbert CSIZMADIA
President, PADME

Discussants:
Leena ILMOLA-SHEPPARD
Senior Scientist, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Li JIN
Executive Vice President, Fudan University
Bruno LANVIN
President, Smart City Observatory
Jung Hoon LEE
Chair of Smart City Committee, Seoul Metropolitan Government
Professor, Yonsei University

Further information about the Forum is available on the official website.