Rebuild Ukraine Forum 2026 / Panel IXc / 23 October 2026

The speakers highlighted the resilience and economic potential of the Chernivtsi region, which has turned from a peripheral area into a dynamic hub, further boosted by the integration of over 100,000 internally displaced persons. Vitalii Bondar and Mykhailo Pavliuk emphasized the strength of the agro-industrial sector, which generates 30% of the regional GDP, the highest share in the Carpathian area, and offers major opportunities for value-added processing of fruit and vegetables. As Oleksii Hrushko detailed, the region is a national leader in this field, known for its “apple road” of more than 150 km of orchards. Serhii Dobrzhanskyi pointed to the diversification of the urban economy through the fast-growing IT sector, already 3% of the local budget, and medical tourism, which attracts patients from Western Europe for high-quality, competitively priced dental and cardiovascular care. The panel also highlighted the potential for spa treatment centers and medical rehabilitation complexes for veterans, supported by the Chernivtsi Medical University.

Infrastructure and cross-border connectivity were a central theme. With a 240 km border with Romania, modernizing and opening new crossing points, such as Shepit and Izvoarele Sucevei, is considered vital for transit. Vitalii Bondar and Serhii Dobrzhanskyi advocated building a European-gauge railway from Hlyboka to Chernivtsi and rebuilding the local airport, turning the city into a “gateway to the Balkans” and a multimodal node connected to the ports of Constanța and Gdańsk.

To attract Romanian and international investors despite wartime risks, the officials presented the region’s seven industrial parks, including rural hubs such as Khotyn and Sokyriany, which offer extensive tax benefits such as a 10-year corporate tax exemption. Their shared message: businesses should invest now to secure an advantageous position in Ukraine’s future European reconstruction.