Mayor Zoran Janković attended a business meeting the SUMMIT 100 Business Leaders of Southeast Europe in Portorož, Slovenia.

On the first day of the meeting, Mayor Zoran Janković cooperated on a plenary panel entitled “Smart Cities for Sustainable Growth: Turning the Region’s Capitals into Smarter Innovation Hubs”. Besides the Mayor of Ljubljana, the panel included the Mayor of Sarajevo Ivo Komšić, the Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić, the Mayor of Podgorica Slavoljub Stijepović and Michael Dixon from IBM.

Ljubljana Mayor stated that smart cities use new technologies to introduce smart solutions in the management of natural resources, such as care for the high quality of drinking water, water loss reduction, and energy efficiency building renovation, the use of alternative energy sources, electro mobility and other. He pointed out that Ljubljana is proud of the international recognition and awards merit to successful implementation of the Ljubljana 2025 Vision and especially of the title the European Green Capital 2016, the first and only European Green Capital title in this part of Europe.

He added that there was no jealousy among the cities as they were happy to exchange good practice and learn from one another. He emphasized that in addition to the implementation of new technologies, they should not forget their own identities, the unique characteristics of each city, their personal approach, a clear vision and the realisation of plans, all of which are crucial for the high quality of life in the cities.

Summit 100
The Summit 100 Business Leaders of Southeast Europe, which took place in Portorož on the 1 and 2 June 2015, is a platform for the dialogue between politicians and entrepreneurs to improve the regional competitiveness and national economies. It is a contribution of leading managers for increasing economic cooperation and competitiveness of the region.

The summit was held in Slovenia for the first time. The main objective was to form a new deal for the region that has problems with competitiveness, but at the same time a lot of untapped potentials.
The summit brings together more than 150 business and political leaders of the region, representatives of the European Commission, the President of the European Investment Bank and the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The main themes of this year’s summit were the effects of traffic on the competitiveness and smart cities that can become a driving force for inclusive and sustainable growth.