Dear friends,
Dear participants of our Carpathian Summit and of its business part,
It is very important that the Carpathian Initiative starts exactly this way – with practical work and with a strong economic foundation. Today, first of all, we had an absolutely great first political part. I want to thank all the leaders who came to us. And thanks that you are here, and you are big supporters of Ukraine. Thank you very much!
And we have here almost 1,400 participants. More than 800 representatives of governments, regions and communities, and more than 500 business representatives from all C8 countries. My congratulations. And this is the first summit of this scale for our macro-region.
And this region has changed a lot during the years of war. What was once seen mainly as a border region has really become an important base for logistics, energy and industry. And our goal is to see the Carpathian countries grow strongly in the years ahead – with more investment, stronger industries, new opportunities across the whole region.
And especially now, because of Russia’s aggressive, absolutely aggressive policy, there are many reasons to make this region stronger. More security. Stronger energy links. Better roads and railways and, of course, ports. Security always depends on our ability to work together – when our systems are connected and our countries cooperate, our protection is stronger too.
Today we already have something very, very practical to work with. Our 8 countries present a common investment portfolio of 95 projects worth around 40 billion euros. And this is a common regional offer to investors. For the first time, the Carpathian macro-region is presenting itself as one market, with one investment portfolio. And today, more than 50 agreements worth over one billion euros are prepared for signing. And this is only the starting point. Only the first year of our initiative. My congratulations.
Energy makes up around half of the portfolio, and this can become one of the Carpathians’ main contributions to Europe. Solar and wind energy. Energy storage. And new interconnectors. And our large underground gas storage facilities. And there is also a proposed Carpathian wind cluster with 1.5 gigawatts of capacity. The Carpathians can become an energy contributor to the European Union – and not only a transit region. And this directly supports Europe’s goal of energy independence from Russia.
Logistics and industry are just as important. We are talking about new transport corridors, logistics hubs, terminals, processing and storage, and new industrial production. The war has proved something very, very clearly – when the roads, railways and ports of neighboring countries work together, trade can continue even under the hardest conditions, difficult ones. So we need to turn this resilience into permanent infrastructure – not a temporary wartime solution.
Our regions and our communities must be a real part of this work. Around 170 representatives of Carpathian regions are here today. Thank you very much! You are welcome! Mountain communities often face the same problems – roads, environment, demographics, and development. And these are problems that no capital city can solve alone. This is why cooperation between regions and communities matters so much. It brings some of the most lasting results.
And we also have a clear readiness from the European Union to support the Carpathian macro-region. Everyone understands why it matters.
And the Carpathian region naturally connects three other European macro-regions – the Baltic, Alpine Danube regions. And here in the Carpathians, major trade, energy and defense routes from the eastern part of Europe come together. And this region also connects directly with the south of Europe.
And because of our active defense, the Carpathian macro-region has also become a very important base for defense production and for the industries that support modern defense. And this role will only grow. Thanks to all our mil-tech productions, to all these absolutely smart people, and thanks to our warriors.
And there is also, I think, an important geopolitical point.
Carpathian cooperation helps bring Ukraine closer to the European Union. The more our regions, our businesses, communities work together here, the more Ukraine becomes part of the practical life of the European Union.
All this cooperation must bring real economic growth, real investment, and real jobs.
Thank you for your work here today. Together, we will make this format strong. I’m sure. One hundred percent.
The Carpathian Initiative is here to stay.
Glory to Ukraine!
