The economic measures package of the new Bulgarian government will be presented in detail at the fifth Southeast Europe Economic Forum. The event will take place from October 15 to 17 at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia, Bulgarian Economic Forum board of directors chairman Georgi Tabakov told a press conference on Wednesday.

The organizers of the forum expect over 1,500 participants. So far, 140 companies from 19 countries have confirmed their participation but projections of exact numbers would be premature at this stage. Invitations have been sent to representatives of international financial institutions, and to EU and Central and East European representatives.

Last year over 1,300 people attended the forum's plenary sessions.

The non-governmental Bulgarian Economic Forum organizes the Economic Forum for Southeast Europe. It is supported by the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank.

The organizers do not know if this year's event will trigger anti-globalization protests but will nevertheless be taking strict security measures. "We expect Bulgaria and the development of infrastructure projects in the region to be the highlights of the event," they said. "The program features a detailed presentation of the Cabinet's economic policy including the development of the energy sector, privatization and telecommunications," said Tabakov.

A special meeting of cabinet members is planned with Bulgarian and international businessmen. Representatives of municipalities are to present investment projects to the foreign businessmen. The Centre for Economic Development will make an analysis of the competitiveness of the region's economies.

"We have the unique opportunity once again to make the forum a venue for doing business and for a `clash' of views where the administration meets representatives of economic theory and economic practice," said Tabakov. According to the draft program, the forum will open with an address by Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg but this has not yet been officially confirmed.

The fourth Euro-Atlantic Conference on partnership between the public and the private sector will be staged within the economic forum. The conference traditionally brings together ministers in charge of infrastructure from Central, Eastern and Western Europe. President Petar Stoyanov, Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev, Olivier Deschamps of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Stability Pact Special Co-ordinator Bodo Hombach have confirmed their participation.

The Euro-Atlantic conference is the brainchild of the Dutch Government. In 1997, during celebrations marking the anniversary of the Marshall Plan for Western Europe in the Hague, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok proposed that a Euro-Atlantic conference be organized. Its aim would be to promote investment in infrastructure projects in Central and Eastern Europe. The first conference took place in April 1998 in Amsterdam, the second in Warsaw in 1999 and the third in Portoroz, Slovenia, last year.