Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdansk to bring delegations from nearly 100 countries
The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 (URC 2026), scheduled for June 25-26 in Gdansk, is expected to bring together delegations from around 100 countries, including about 40 represented at the government level, according to a representative of the Polish‑Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce.
Speaking to Ukrinform, the chamber's vice president, Dariusz Szymczycha, said that negotiations were currently underway between the governments of Ukraine and Poland regarding the substantive agenda of the international conference, which will be structured around five thematic pillars.
"The first dimension is business cooperation. The second is regional development, meaning the development of regions and cooperation between local self-government bodies. The third dimension concerns Ukraine's gradual rapprochement with membership in the European Union. The fourth direction is the so-called human dimension, which covers not only human resources but also issues related to veterans, people with disabilities, and psychological support for a society traumatized by war. The final direction concerns security and the defense industry," Szymczycha said.
In his opinion, the main discussion will focus on business projects, as key issues include the resilience of the Ukrainian economy during the war, the restoration of energy and transport infrastructure, reconstruction projects, international investment, and attracting foreign capital to Ukraine.
Szymczycha noted that this will be a major international conference involving many global actors, such as the United States and Japan, as well as international financial donors, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and others.
According to him, representatives from around 100 countries will participate in URC 2026 in Gdansk, with approximately 40 countries represented at the governmental level.
Szymczycha stressed that Poland is taking the organization of the conference very seriously. Since January this year, a coordination committee preparing URC 2026 has been actively operating under the Polish government. It is headed by Poland's Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domanski, with deputies including Minister of State Assets Wojciech Balczun and the head of the Polish government council for cooperation with Ukraine, Pawel Kowal. Meanwhile, the operational role in organizing URC 2026 on behalf of the Polish government has been assigned to Secretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets Eliza Zeidler, who will serve as commissioner for the conference.
"The Polish side is already doing everything possible to ensure that this conference results in as few empty declarations as possible and as many concrete decisions as possible," Szymczycha said.
He also noted that several interim conferences will be organized ahead of URC 2026 in Gdansk, including one in April in Rzeszow and another in May in Ukraine.
Szymczycha also stressed that the Gdansk city authorities and the government of Poland's Pomeranian Voivodeship are actively involved in organizing the upcoming conference. He noted that representatives of the Ukrainian government visited Gdansk in February to review preparations for the event.
According to Szymczycha, the choice of the city to host the conference was not accidental.
"This city is exceptional not only in the history of Poland, but also in the history of Europe and the world. It was here in 1980 that the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, as well as the unjust post-war division of Europe, effectively began. The Solidarity trade union movement was created in Gdansk, which later led to democratic transformations in Poland and ultimately brought the country closer to membership in NATO and the European Union," the Polish expert said.
The fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference, held in Rome in 2025, brought together more than 6,000 participants, representatives of 43 international organizations, and nearly 100 government delegations from around the world, and resulted in the signing of more than 200 agreements and commitments.
Earlier, Kyiv and Warsaw jointly decided to appeal to the Group of Seven countries with the initiative to hold the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Poland in 2026.
Ukraine and Poland have already begun practical preparations for URC 2026 and agreed to deepen trade and economic cooperation.