Forget a return to normal. It is not going to happen. The world is heading towards 2027 with more conflict, fiercer economic competition and fewer certainties. Global powers are competing for influence, Europe is searching for its role, and businesses are trying to plan their future in an environment where the rules are constantly changing.
The 17th Limassol Economic Forum, taking place on Friday, 23 October 2026, at Parklane, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa in Limassol, will confront the question occupying political and business leaders alike: What kind of world is emerging for 2027, and which decisions can no longer be postponed?
Under the theme “THE WORLD IN 2027: The Leaders’ Agenda and the Forces Shaping Global Affairs,” this year’s Forum will focus on four fronts where the future is already being decided.
Geopolitics: Power Is Back
The era in which economic interdependence was expected to prevent conflict is over. Wars, sanctions, military expenditure and competition for technology and critical resources have returned to the top of the international agenda.
Europe now faces a difficult choice. It must develop greater strategic and defence autonomy while remaining dependent on international alliances, imported energy and technologies developed beyond its borders.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, energy ambitions collide with regional conflicts and shifting alliances. For Cyprus, these developments are not distant geopolitical theory. They are unfolding in its immediate neighbourhood.
Economics: Europe Is Losing Ground
The European economy faces a problem that cannot be solved by another strategy paper: it is simply not growing fast enough.
Low productivity, insufficient investment, demographic ageing and high energy costs are widening the gap with the United States and Asia. At the same time, governments must finance the green transition, strengthen defence and preserve the welfare state — without unlimited fiscal resources.
The question is politically sensitive but economically unavoidable: Can Europe become more competitive without abandoning the model that defines it?
Energy: Ambition Meets Cost
The green transition remains an official priority. But energy security is firmly back on the agenda.
Governments and businesses want cleaner energy, while also requiring reliable supplies and competitive prices. Natural gas, LNG, renewable energy and cross-border electricity connections are different parts of the same difficult equation.
The Eastern Mediterranean wants to become part of Europe’s energy solution. Achieving that ambition, however, will require viable infrastructure, regional cooperation and substantial investment — not merely ambitious declarations.
Business: There Is No Safe Scenario
CEOs can no longer treat geopolitics as someone else’s concern. International conflicts directly affect supply chains, operating costs, investment decisions and access to markets.
Artificial intelligence, meanwhile, promises higher productivity but is disrupting established jobs and business models. Organisations are being pressured to invest quickly without knowing which technologies will ultimately prevail or what the final regulatory framework will look like.
Business leaders must prepare for several possible futures at once. Resilience alone is no longer enough. Companies must be capable of changing direction before circumstances leave them with no alternative.
The Limassol Economic Forum brings these discussions to Cyprus, at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. It will connect geopolitics with economics, energy policy with competitiveness, and global developments with the decisions facing organisations today.
The Forum is addressed to board members, CEOs and managing directors, senior corporate executives, government officials, policymakers, diplomats, economists, academics, investors and emerging business leaders.
The objective is not to offer easy predictions about an unpredictable world. It is to identify the risks, choices and opportunities that leaders cannot afford to ignore.
The year 2027 will not wait for governments and businesses to complete their planning.
The real question is who will move first.
Conference Information
Organizers: IMH and IN Business magazine
Platinum Partners: Bank of Cyprus, bbf:, Deloitte Cyprus, Elias Neocleous & Co LLC, Finstella Ltd
In collaboration with: Cyprus LSE Alumni Association
Mobility Partner: Toyota
Media Sponsors: Alpha Cyprus, Cyprus Business News (CBN), GOLD magazine
For more information and registrations, please contact IMH:
Tel: +357 77777741│ Fax: +357 22679820
Email: events@imhbusiness.com
