Round Table: The Western Balkans - Political Challenges and Economic Opportunities from a US Perspective

Ambassador Christopher R. Hill is one of America's most experienced diplomats and a renowned Southeast Europe expert. Hill has served as Deputy Secretary of State at the State Department and as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Korea, Poland, and North Macedonia, among other posts. In addition, Hill was a co-negotiator of the Dayton Accords ending the Bosnian War. Together with Wolfgang Petritsch and Russian diplomat Boris Majorski, he led the Kosovo negotiations in the troika format. Following his preliminary retirement from the Foreign Service in 2010, Hill served as dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and George Ball Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, among other positions. In October 2021, he was selected by President Biden to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia.

Birgit Niessner heads the Main Economics Department of the Austrian National Bank. Over her career, she has gathered extensive experience in the commercial banking sector as well as in development cooperation, having served, inter alia, at the Austrian Development Agency ADA and the European Investment Bank EIB.

Wolfgang Petritsch, a member of LGPs Senior Counsel network, brings to bear some four decades of experience in the diplomatic service, including as Ambassador in Belgrade, at the UN and as Head of the
Permanent Mission of Austria to the OECD in Paris. To the public, the former diplomat is particularly known as former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a role in which he was instrumental for the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. During his time as Ambassador in Belgrade (1997 to 1999),Wolfgang Petritsch was appointed EU Special Envoy for Kosovo. Petritsch is president of the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation and the Austrian Institute for International Affairs. Following the presentations by Ambassador Hill and Dr. Niessner, there was an opportunity for further discussions during an open Q & A session.

As is well-known, LGP has been actively involved in the development of the Western Balkans region for many years and entertains an office in Skopje, North Macedonia since 2018.