On September 18-19, in Bukovel Ukraine hosted the inaugural Carpathian Integration Initiative Summit, bringing together Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine around a shared agenda for stronger economic, investment and cross-border cooperation.
The Summit became a high-level platform for dialogue between governments, regions, businesses, investors, financial institutions and international partners. It gathered nearly 1,400 participants from 25 countries, including representatives of national and regional authorities, local communities, international institutions and nearly 400 companies from across the C8.
The Summit was held with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister of Ukraine Sergii Koretskyi, Ukrainian ministers, as well as high-level representatives from across the C8 countries.
For UkraineInvest, the Summit provided an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with investment promotion institutions, businesses and regional partners across Central and Eastern Europe and to advance a practical investment agenda for the Carpathian macro-region.
A major focus of the Carpathian Economic Forum, held within the Summit, was the development of a visible and structured investment pipeline across the participating countries.
The joint C8 investment portfolio presented at the Summit included 95 projects worth more than EUR 42.5 billion across a broad range of sectors.
Of these:
The portfolio covered investment opportunities in energy, industry and manufacturing, transport and logistics, infrastructure and real estate, innovative technologies, agrifood, healthcare and construction materials.
The Forum also saw more than EUR 1 billion in investment, financial and trade arrangements, highlighting the potential of the C8 format not only as a platform for dialogue, but also as a mechanism for generating practical business cooperation.
As part of the Carpathian Economic Forum, UkraineInvest organised a dedicated Carpathian Investment Dialogue, bringing together public authorities, regions, businesses, investors, financial institutions and investment promotion organisations.
The discussion focused on regional investment pipelines, financial instruments, PPPs and strategic infrastructure, state assets, human capital and concrete investment cases, while structured B2B and B2G matchmaking created opportunities for direct contacts between project owners and potential partners.
One of the key institutional outcomes of the Dialogue was the announcement of the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of the C8 Investment Coalition – a new framework for practical cooperation between investment promotion and business support institutions across the region.
The Coalition brings together UkraineInvest, Austrian Business Agency (ABA), CzechInvest, Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (ARICE), Development Agency of Serbia (RAS), Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS)andSlovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO).
The Coalition is intended to support:
It also creates a basis for participating institutions to exchange project information, connect investors with opportunities across C8 markets and continue cooperation through practical project development and investment facilitation.
UkraineInvest also contributed to organising the Summit’s Investment EXPO, which provided a dedicated space for showcasing investment opportunities from across the Carpathian Eight. All eight C8 countries were represented through national stands, allowing participants to explore their investment priorities, business environment and project opportunities in one location.
UkraineInvest worked alongside its counterparts and partner organisations to support the presentation of national investment opportunities and strengthen direct cooperation between investment promotion institutions.
Ukrainian businesses also presented investment projects at the EXPO, including opportunities in energy, industrial production, transport and logistics and agrifood.
The format allowed investors and partners to combine high-level discussions with direct access to concrete projects, companies and institutions from across the region.
Throughout the Summit, the UkraineInvest team also held substantive meetings with international partners and potential investors, focusing on concrete investment opportunities, ongoing projects and areas for further cooperation.
The inaugural Summit established a foundation for continued practical cooperation between the C8 countries.
The next stage will focus on moving projects from presentation to implementation – further preparing and structuring investment opportunities, developing joint and cross-border initiatives, strengthening cooperation between investment promotion agencies, and connecting project owners with investors and financial institutions.
The broader objective is to deepen economic links across the Carpathian region and create conditions for greater flows of private and institutional capital, trade and industrial cooperation, infrastructure development and integration into European value chains.
UkraineInvest will continue working with regional counterparts, businesses, investors, financial institutions and international partners to advance the shared investment pipeline and translate the Carpathian region’s economic potential into concrete projects and long-term investment partnerships.
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