The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, in partnership with the Observer Research Foundation America and the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), held an in-person Global Cyber Policy Dialogue on April 23-24, 2026, in Podgorica, Montenegro. This two-day multistakeholder meeting convened over 50 participants from the six countries of the Western Balkans that are on their way to EU accession, including from government, private sector, civil society, and academia, as well as experts active in the region. Specific sessions included discussions on defending against evolving threats and emerging technologies, UN processes and cyber diplomacy, a tabletop exercise on regional cybersecurity collaboration led by the International Telecommunication Union, AI and the future of cybersecurity, capacity building and public private partnerships, and how to secure the future of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans.
Welcoming remarks were provided by Naim M. Gjokaj, State Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro; Director General-elect, Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), Martijn Elgersma, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Patty Zandstra, Head, Digital and Hybrid Threats Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and Ivan Leković, Ambassador for Cyber Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro.
The dialogue built on previous editions, including in-person meetings in Tirana, Albania, in October 2025 and November 2024, in-person meetings in Skopje, North Macedonia, in June 2022 and September 2023, and virtual meetings in April 2021 and April 2025.
This was part of a larger Global Cyber Policy Dialogue Series organized by ORF America and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, which seeks to convene regional dialogues to address key cyber challenges, strengthen multistakeholder networks, and increase coordination of regional capacity building initiatives.
