Announcing the event last week, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that the conference would focus on strengthening the investment potential and climate in Croatia as a way of accomplishing one of the government's main projects - removing barriers to investment.

Kosor's deputy in charge of investment, Domagoj Ivan Milosevic, said the forum would include panel discussions on stepping up economic growth through investments, on investments by the Croat expatriate community, and on where the government expected greenfield investments - in the energy sector, infrastructure, tourism, and high technology.

Apart from intensifying cooperation with our partners, we will take special care to develop the best possible relations with the world's fastest growing economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China, and the countries of the Persian Gulf and Turkey, Milosevic said, adding that the forum would reflect this attitude.

Some of prominent participants in this high-level international forum are David Fass of Macquarie Group Ltd. a leading Australian investment banks, Sheikh Mohammed A. al-Thani of Qatar, Frank Stronach, the founder and honorary chairman of Magna International Inc, Ferit Sahenk, the president and CEO of the Turkish Dogus Gorup, Davor Luksic of the Luksic Group, Andrew Scott, a macroeconomic analyst and professor at London Business School.

This executive level business forum devoted to the investment environment and opportunities in Croatia is being organised with the support of the Macquarie Group, with media sponsorship to be provided by the Financial Times and Bloomberg.