I have to fight for investors and show that the Three Seas region is interesting and worth investing in – said Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, President of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, in one of her interviews. During the spring Impact’21, the Three Seas region was the main topic of conversation between the BGK President and Daniel Rząsa, Editor-in-Chief of 300gospodarka.pl. Madam President, why is it worth investing in the Three Seas region? Initiatives like the Three Seas region, the Three Seas Initiative, which began at the highest state level among twelve countries, present the region in a different light. The region’s potential and opportunities, assessed through the lens of individual countries, are not as distinct as when viewed through the prism of the entire region. A few figures: the Three Seas region accounts for 20% of the European Union’s entire GDP. It represents 25% of the population, which amounts to 112 million people. That’s almost as many as in Russia. And the third factor is 30% of the territory. This means we have an area where very interesting investments can be made. The mismatch between GDP and population indicates that there is room to harness this potential. Is it difficult to convince investors of this? Before the pandemic, we knew this was the fastest-growing region in the European Union, recording the highest GDP growth. I think investors lack sufficient knowledge and awareness of what the entire region is and what potential it represents. It is our significant role to talk about this region, showcase its potential, and identify investment gaps, especially in infrastructure. The SpotData report itself, created in 2019, refers only to three sectors: transport, energy, and digital. I would add that these are the three sectors in which the Three Seas Fund intends to invest. Yes, these are the three sectors that countries in the Three Seas Initiative have identified as economically most important for the region’s development. These are the sectors in which the Three Seas Fund intends to invest. The investment gap amounts to 600 billion euros. This is an unimaginable sum for the average citizen, any inhabitant of this region. This is the amount of money needed to build infrastructure comparable in quality only to what already exists in Western Europe today. And this doesn't mean Western Europe will stand still for these 10 years; it will continue to develop just as rapidly. Therefore, we can reduce the gap between us, but we must have a much higher implementation pace. Hence, the immense challenge of showcasing the entire region and its potential, as well as attracting investors. There are enormous investment opportunities here. À propos, regarding the pace, today the Three Seas Fund has 11 participating entities and already over 1 billion euros in financial commitment, but the vast majority of it comes from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. Yes, today we have a total of 9 investors, primarily represented by development banks from the Three Seas countries, and two countries – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – are still in the decision-making process. [By the time of the interview publication, one private investor had joined the Fund – BGK’s note]. Austria decided from the outset not to participate in the Three Seas Fund, likely because its infrastructure differs somewhat from that in other Three Seas countries. We discussed before the interview how significant the infrastructure shortcomings are, for example, between Romania and Bulgaria. Along a stretch of about 700 kilometers on the river forming the border between these two countries, there are only two bridges. These are unimaginable deficiencies on the north-south axis. This east-west axis is already relatively well-covered by infrastructure, by roads. We can even see this on the newest motorways in Poland. However, the north-south axis, indeed, even at the national level, we lack that vertical thinking. Such thinking began with the Three Seas Initiative, and I believe we are also discussing topics like Via Carpatia much more. It is a symbol of the Three Seas region and even extends slightly beyond it, as plans envision it reaching Thessaloniki, Greece. The Three Seas conference, aimed at investors and entrepreneurs, held in early May in Estonia, shows that Finland also does not want to be left out. The Three Seas Initiative at the political level and the Three Seas Fund at the economic level demonstrate the potential and an incredible opportunity to build cooperation on the north-south axis. This is an excellent opportunity to open our Three Seas economy through these three major gateways: the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas. I believe that in the era of the crisis caused by the coronavirus, the rebuilding of business models, and the relocation of part of production, Central-Eastern Europe, the Three Seas region, can be an excellent place for investment. Madam President, all of this sounds very good on paper. Let's talk about investors now. Who, apart from, for example, Poland or Romania, might be interested in something like this? I know you would like to attract investors from the United States, perhaps from the Far East. In addition to us, 9 development banks and institutions, we would like to attract private investors. [By the time of the interview publication, one private investor had joined the Fund – BGK’s note]. On one hand, we, the development banks, present this potential in the context of the Three Seas as investors. On the other hand, Amber Infrastructure, a company based in London that manages the Three Seas Fund, is working on attracting investors. These efforts run in parallel. We, as BGK, through our meetings and discussions, are working on attracting investors from East Asia: Japan, Korea, and we are also considering Singapore. Furthermore, BGK plans to open its representative office in Singapore this year. We are also in talks with Australian companies. Are Chinese investors in play here? The most important question is: are Chinese investors ready to invest in a fund on our terms? We had the opportunity to speak with Chinese investors several times, back in 2017. We want to safeguard Poland's interests and the interests of the Three Seas region, as this is the region where we live and where our future generations will live. The idea of the Three Seas Fund and the building of this fund itself began before the pandemic. How, if at all, has it changed its character? That's a very interesting question. We signed an agreement with our managing company, Amber Infrastructure, on February 26th (2020 – BGK’s note) in Riga, and two weeks later, practically the entire world was shut down. This did not slow down our pace, and to this day, Amber has analyzed over 150 projects. Two projects have been implemented – one in Poland and one in Tallinn, Estonia. We are preparing another very interesting project. I cannot reveal the details, but we want it to be a project in the energy sector, which is very important to us. [By the publication of the interview, the Fund had finalized this investment in the energy sector]. Now, a truly crucial task is how to attract investors. We sometimes have discussions with colleagues from the banking sector, with capital market investors, who say there is a lot of money in the world, but a shortage of projects. I invite everyone to the Three Seas Fund. We have too many projects, and even if we had not 5 billion euros, as planned, but 20-30 billion euros, we would still have places to invest it. I understand that natural investors in the Three Seas Fund, besides countries and development banks like BGK, could be, for example, pension funds or sovereign wealth funds from around the world? Romania is strongly considering enabling Romanian pension funds to participate in the Three Seas Fund, but I believe other countries are also considering this possibility. Could, for example, PPKs [Employee Capital Plans] be involved? Yes, however, I think the Fund needs more diversified, private capital. Poland's involvement through BGK amounts to 750 million euros. We want this project to have a Three Seas dimension and to showcase the potential of the entire region. Hence our discussions, for instance, with Japanese, Korean, or Canadian investors. We are talking worldwide, showing that through the Three Seas Fund, investors can gain insight into the entire region and see what is happening here through a broader lens, without the need to analyze country by country. The Three Seas comprises 12 countries, 12 languages, and a very diverse culture that we should share. We should pay even greater attention to the cultural aspect, the aspect of getting to know each other. We all in the region have the experience of the communist period. Afterward, we turned our attention to the West because we wanted to catch up, to have a standard of living, work, and earnings similar to the West. Probably because of this, we began building roads more towards the west. This strengthened trade on the east-west axis, but now is the time to strengthen it on the north-south axis. On May 4th, the Polish-Estonian Chamber of Commerce began its operations. I believe there will be more and more such chambers and mutual learning about each other's economies. Trade, cultural exchange, joint actions for environmental protection, and fighting the pandemic are also topics worth taking an interest in.