At the Bled Strategic Forum held 11 September 2018, State Secretary for Political Affairs Zdravka Bušić participated in the panel on “Western Balkans: Lost Years or New Hope?” Together with other deputy ministers and state secretaries, Bušić attended an informal working lunch hosted by State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iztok Mirošič. On the sidelines of the Forum, Bušić held talks with the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Palmer. She also met with the Director for Corporate Affairs at Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe Matthias Sachs.