Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region hosted the first Carpathians Summit C8, attended by Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
In his opening remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described C8 as a new format bringing together neighboring European countries. Zelenskyy said he was pleased that the leaders of Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia and Czechia had joined the program, adding that representatives of Hungary were expected to arrive in the region later in the day.
Energy and logistics links to be strengthened
Zelenskyy said the countries of the Carpathian region were continuing to develop their strong trade ties and noted that some of Europe’s largest strategic natural gas storage facilities were located in the region.
Calling for the region’s military infrastructure to be strengthened, Zelenskyy urged greater interconnection between energy systems. He said more investment should be attracted to the Carpathians because of their role as a corridor linking the South Caucasus and Asia to Europe via the Black Sea.
Zelenskyy said the C8 initiative could turn the Carpathians into a strong connectivity hub linking neighboring regions.
C8 features a €40 billion project portfolio
Speaking at a joint news conference held after the summit, which was planned to last two days, Zelenskyy announced that about 500 business representatives would attend the program. He said a €1 billion investment and trade agreement was being prepared.
Zelenskyy said the participating countries would present various projects and that around 100 business projects from the Carpathian countries alone would be presented on the first day. He said their total value reached approximately €40 billion.
Logistics and defense on the Black Sea agenda
Zelenskyy said the Russia-Ukraine war had affected trade and logistics cooperation among the countries of the region. He alleged that Russia had blockaded the Black Sea and was trying to obstruct logistics between the countries in the region.
Zelenskyy also announced that they were working on weapons capable of intercepting Shahed-type armed unmanned aerial vehicles used by the Russian military in air attacks against Ukraine. He said a weapon developed by two Ukrainian companies and currently undergoing testing had successfully neutralized Russian UAVs.
