On 19 November, in Rome, the New Strategy Center organized the second edition of the Romania–Italy Strategic Dialogue, in partnership with the Istituto Affari Internazionali. The event was supported by the foreign ministries of Romania and Italy.
The conference was opened by Ms. Oana Țoiu, Romania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Stefania Craxi, President of the Foreign and Defense Policy Committee of the Italian Senate, who expressed their commitment to closer cooperation between the two countries, taking into account the significant potential for economic, political, cultural, and security development, as well as the role played by the Romanian community in Italy as a catalyst for bilateral cooperation.
The first part of the event was dedicated to assessing the security challenges facing the EU and NATO, and the situation in the Black Sea region in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Romanian and Italian experts also discussed the wide range of hybrid threats used by Russia to destabilize European states, transatlantic cooperation, and European support for Ukraine. Maintaining freedom of navigation and the energy and connectivity projects in the Black Sea were other topics of debate. Italy and Romania share common security interests in the Black Sea region and the Western Balkans, with both countries having significant military contingents in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with Italy leading NATO’s battlegroup in Bulgaria.
The second panel brought together, in addition to German and Italian experts, companies from the two states interested in the issue of Ukraine’s reconstruction. Italy firmly expressed its interest in contributing to the reconstruction of the Odesa region, located on Romania’s border, a point also highlighted by Ambassador Davide La Cecilia, the Special Representative for Ukraine’s Reconstruction within Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who presented various projects undertaken by Italy. Romanian experts emphasized that Romania aims to play an important role in Ukraine’s reconstruction process, especially regarding the southern regions heavily affected by Russian attacks, given Romania’s proximity to these areas. Protection of critical infrastructure in the Black Sea and along the Danube, cooperation in the naval, satellite, and banking sectors, and involvement in major infrastructure projects at the border with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova were among the topics considered for bilateral cooperation. Experts and representatives of the business community highlighted the vast space for cooperation between Romania and Italy and concluded that such events are especially valuable, contributing to a better understanding of the bilateral cooperation potential.
The New Strategy Center thanks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Gabriela Dancău, Romania’s Ambassador to Italy, and the Embassy of Romania in Rome for their support in organizing this event. The New Strategy Center also expresses its gratitude for the support provided by Leviatan Group and its CEO, Mr. Cătălin Podaru, in carrying out this strategic project. The New Strategy Center conveyed to its Italian partners its openness to organizing the next edition of this strategic dialogue at expert and business levels in December 2026, in Bucharest.
