Bilderberg’s 71st meeting kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden Thursday, where global elites convened behind closed doors amid tensions across Europe and the Middle East, and against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s assault on their favorite thing of all time; globalism. The shadowy group, which was founded in 1954, infamously bans media and enforces a code of silence, fueling concerns of hidden agendas and backroom deals shaping the world’s future.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will address the EU’s “competitiveness" and his country's support for Ukraine against Russia, his spokesperson told Reuters. Transatlantic relations lead the agenda, with Ukraine, critical raw materials, and AI also slated for discussion, according to documents viewed by Reuters.

Unlike similar events, such as the World Economic Forum’s annual get-together in Davos, Switzerland, no media are invited to cover what goes on during the meeting, and attendees themselves tend to remain tight-lipped about what has been said behind the conference’s closed doors. the Epoch Times notes. 

Among the topics scheduled for discussion are Trans-Atlantic relations, the Russia–Ukraine war, the U.S. economy, artificial intelligence, depopulation and migration, the “Authoritarian Axis,” and the geopolitics of energy and critical minerals.

There is limited other information about the event as the meetings are held under the “Chatham House Rule,“ named after the international affairs think tank in London, which states: ”When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

The organizers say that this privacy allows participants to take part as individuals rather than in their official capacities, meaning they are not bound by any office they may hold or previous publicly stated positions on the issues for discussion.

Notable American participants include Stacey Abrams, CEO of Sage Works Production; Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic; Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer; Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; and Peter Thiel, President of Thiel Capital. Other prominent Americans include Jack Clark of Anthropic, Alex Karp of Palantir, Eric Schmidt of Relativity Space, and Lawrence Summers of Harvard, alongside national security figures like Christopher Donahue, Commander of US Army Europe and Africa, and Samuel Paparo, Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command. Political and corporate media voices such as Jason Smith, Member of Congress, and Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS, round out the roster.

Below is the complete list of participants:

In 2016, Thiel offered a rare comment to reporters outside of the Bilderberg conference, telling We Are Change reporter Luke Rudkowski that, “Engaging with diverse perspectives is crucial, regardless of differences."

"Our society faces numerous challenges, and we must […] find ways to have open discussions, even if not everything is fully transparent,” the added.