Zelensky: Ukraine expects major investment in the Carpathians
President Volodymyr Zelensky believes the Carpathian region has significant potential for the development of tourism, logistics and miltech.
The President said this during the Carpathian Economic Forum, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“We very much want to view the Carpathians as a serious European project. The next step, which we have already started working on, is investment in tourism. We are currently communicating with our good friends and partners. We started working with them on the Drone Deal because security is currently number one in the world. These are representatives of the Middle East: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others. These three countries, first and foremost, are the ones we are consulting with. We expect investment in the Carpathians, and we want to showcase the Carpathian platform across eight countries,” Zelensky said.
He expressed hope that meetings with representatives of the aforementioned Middle Eastern countries on the implementation of these projects would take place next year.
In addition to tourism, the President said, logistics in the Carpathian region is also important for Ukraine.
“During the war, our country faces many different challenges. The enemy blocks our import and export routes by various means. And for us, logistics projects in the Carpathians are very important. We are not simply working on this; to be honest, we already have all of this in place,” he said.
The Ukrainian President also highlighted the development of logistics links with Moldova.
“We have started expanding logistics with Moldova. Moldova does not have the Carpathians, but they are partners and can also be part of this initiative. We are expanding logistics routes with Moldova as well. Certainly, Hungary’s new policy gives us hope for serious bilateral projects... It is simply too early to talk about the details, but nevertheless, this is important,” he said.
Zelensky also emphasized the region’s potential in the miltech sector. He mentioned the relocation of businesses to the region.
“Relocation began on a massive scale in the first year of the war. We did it. I am very grateful to the businesses that did this on their own as well, not only with state assistance. What did this lead to? It has resulted in there now being more than 500 miltech companies. We will not go into details – where exactly, in which regions and communities they are located – so as not to feed the enemy information. Nevertheless, we understand that the western part of our country now undoubtedly has significant miltech potential. There are a large number of jobs, strong interest, and now shorter logistics links with our partners in the Carpathian Initiative, which also makes this sector attractive,” the President said.
As reported by Ukrinform, Volodymyr Zelensky announced the establishment of a new transregional initiative – the Carpathian Eight (C8).