Overview
This forum aims to provide a platform for discussion and debate on one of the most important issues in European politics: the reconstruction of Ukraine. The conference represents a natural continuation of the events dedicated to Romania’s role in Ukraine’s reconstruction process, organized by New Strategy Center in December 2023 and December 2025.
European security has been severely tested since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The scale of the military confrontation, the massive bombing of civilian infrastructure, the large number of refugees, and the displacement of significant populations from their homes make reconstruction a vast and long-term process, requiring not only substantial investments and sustainable financial solutions, but also empathy and long-term political determination.
“Rebuilding Ukraine: Security, Opportunities, Investment” will bring together leading institutional actors, experts, companies from Romania and Ukraine, international investors, and representatives of local administrations to discuss the complex reconstruction process of Ukraine, strategic directions and projects, Romania’s role in Ukraine’s reconstruction, and to identify concrete opportunities for economic cooperation and partnerships.
The event will focus on six major themes of interest
- Infrastructure and connectivity
- Security and defense
- Financing Mechanisms and Business Opportunities
- Energy, agriculture, and sustainable development
- Regions and local communities. Cross-border cooperation
- Human capital development
Connectivity
“Infrastructure & Connectivity” segment will focus on transport infrastructure, including roads, railways and ports, logistics, digital infrastructure and its protection, urban infrastructure, and advanced technological solutions.
Romania plays a major strategic role in connectivity with Ukraine and demonstrated this clearly in 2022 and 2023, when 70% of Ukraine’s exports transited through Romania. Positioned as a gateway to southern Ukraine, with expanding cross-border infrastructure and clear development prospects, such as the construction of a new bridge over the Danube between Isaccea, Romania, and Orlivka, Ukraine, Romania is becoming an essential hub for investments in logistics and connectivity.
The ports of Galați and Brăila, Romania, together with Giurgiulești, Republic of Moldova, Reni, and Izmail, Ukraine, are shaping a logistics hub of regional importance on the Danube, attracting the interest of major investors.
The Western-gauge railway linking the port of Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea in Poland with the port of Constanța on the Black Sea, potentially crossing western Ukraine from Lviv to Chernivtsi, would not only stimulate economic exchanges between Ukraine and the EU but would also play a significant role in NATO’s North-South military mobility.
Security and Defense
“Security and Defense” segment will have two dimensions: an analytical component and another focused on industrial cooperation.
In the first category, leading experts will discuss possible military developments, the negotiation process and security guarantees for Ukraine, and Russia’s hybrid warfare aimed at undermining international support for Ukraine.
The second category will focus on solutions adapted to lessons learned from the battlefield, cooperation between Ukrainian companies and firms from Romania and other EU and NATO states, Ukraine’s integration into European production chains, and civilian demining.
Technological developments, the intensive use of unmanned systems, and the asymmetric tactics developed by Ukraine are reshaping military strategy and the conduct of war not only in Europe, but globally.
Financing Mechanisms and Business Opportunities
“Financing Mechanisms and Business Opportunities” segment will explore the financial mechanisms available to support Ukraine’s reconstruction, including international financial institutions, development banks, public-private partnerships, and private investment instruments.
Participants will discuss how to mobilize capital more effectively, reduce investment risks, and create a predictable framework for long-term economic recovery. The discussion will also highlight emerging business opportunities across key sectors of the Ukrainian economy and the role that international companies can play in rebuilding and modernizing the country.
Energy, Agriculture, and Sustainable Development
“Energy, Agriculture, and Sustainable Development” segment will analyze projects that could play an important role in Ukraine’s reconstruction, both in the offshore Black Sea area and in various regions of the country.
Topics will include renewable energy projects, gas and oil reserves, integration of Ukraine’s energy system into the EU system, modernization of the civilian nuclear sector, exploitation of rare mineral resources, modern technologies for sustainable extraction and environmental protection, and the protection of critical energy infrastructure.
At the same time, experts, officials, and business representatives will present opportunities and challenges related to Ukraine’s agricultural sector, investment opportunities in the food industry, the impact on negotiations with the European Union, and Ukraine’s role as an important actor in global food security.
Cross-Border Cooperation
“Cross-Border Cooperation” segment will focus on development opportunities between Romanian counties and Ukrainian regions, presenting ideas for partnerships and economic projects while bringing together local and regional leaders.
In our view, Romania’s experience during the EU accession process can be highly valuable for Ukrainian communities, especially in neighboring regions and in the southern regions heavily affected by war: Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
Tourism, a rich cultural heritage, and national minorities can serve as bridges for good relations between Romania and Ukraine and as catalysts for cross-border cooperation.
Human Capital Development
“Human Capital Development” segment will examine investment challenges from the perspective of human capital, including how to maintain the necessary balance between the need to mobilize new recruits for the front and the functioning of the economy, as well as how refugees outside Ukraine can contribute to reconstruction efforts.
Special attention will also be given to the reintegration of veterans into society and the challenges associated with this process, given its scale.
An appeal for continued support
Our conference is also an appeal for continued support for Ukraine in achieving a just peace and obtaining real security guarantees that would make any new Russian attack impossible.
Ukraine must be helped to overcome the trauma of war and rebuild itself in order to fully capitalize on its impressive agricultural potential, technological innovation capacity, and the talent of generations that have found solutions not only to ensure the country’s military resistance, but also to turn it into an example of industrial development even in wartime.
It is in Europe’s interest for Ukraine to become a stable, predictable, democratic country with a strong economy integrated into the European Union. Romania needs such a neighbor, one with which it can share a common future within the EU and NATO.