Rebuild Ukraine Forum 2026 / Panel XIc / 23 October 2026

At the beginning of the panel, George Scutaru, CEO of New Strategy Center, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Yaroslav Kichuk, Rector of the University of Izmail. The document creates a joint framework for future projects, with objectives including the strategic protection of the Danube and Black Sea region, cooperation between Odesa and Romanian counties, support for Ukraine’s European integration and stronger bilateral relations between the two countries.

The discussions highlighted Odesa’s role as Ukraine’s primary economic engine and commercial artery, despite severe security challenges. Oleksiy Leonov emphasized the immense potential of the Odesa port, with a processing capacity of 100 million tonnes, and praised Romania’s support in facilitating transit through the port of Constanța, which contributed to a bilateral trade volume of 3.5 billion dollars. Looking ahead, the focus is shifting from competition to regional coordination within the Romania-Republic of Moldova-Ukraine trilateral format and to major infrastructure projects. A central example is the proposed Isaccea-Orlivka road bridge, a strategic project estimated at 15.5 billion hryvnias, which could draw on Japanese-Romanian expertise (similar to the Brăila bridge) and European funding, opening a vital new logistics route to the EU.

From the perspective of local administration, Olha Lozova presented the city’s efforts to support 135,000 internally displaced persons and keep Odesa functioning. With more than 20 billion hryvnias allocated to social and civil obligations, immediate priorities include energy independence (solar systems, cogeneration units), safe shelters, veteran rehabilitation and the modernisation of electric urban transport. To stimulate economic recovery and attract value-added production, the municipality has prepared a 100-hectare area next to the port for industrial parks, offering foreign investors major tax incentives (VAT and corporate tax exemptions for 10 years) in logistics, green industry, machine building and the food sector.

Liudmyla Maliuta detailed the importance of cross-border cooperation, advocating the integration of transport infrastructure (such as the Odesa-Reni corridor) and the creation of joint Romanian-Ukrainian logistics centres and industrial parks. She called for the direct involvement of local communities, universities and businesses alongside governments in attracting EU funds through programmes such as INTERREG, and proposed a joint Romanian-Ukrainian project development platform. She also stressed that investment should include dedicated youth support programmes alongside infrastructure, in order to retain highly skilled workers.