Ukraine has launched the Carpathian Integration Initiative, a new regional cooperation platform bringing together eight European countries linked to the Carpathian mountain range. The initiative was announced at the first Carpathian Summit in Huta, in Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk region, according to the Ukrainian president’s office. The “Carpathian Eight” includes Ukraine, Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary and Czechia. Leaders and senior officials attending the summit discussed cooperation on security, energy, transport, logistics, infrastructure, trade and reconstruction. Representatives of Hungary were expected to join the summit’s economic session. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the platform would create a stronger framework for cross-border cooperation and support efforts to develop an EU macro-regional strategy for the Carpathians. He highlighted the need to modernize roads and railways, expand energy interconnections and storage capacity, improve military mobility and strengthen manufacturing and trade ties. About 550 business representatives were expected to participate in the economic portion of the summit. Ukrainian officials said investment and trade agreements worth about €1 billion had been prepared, while nearly 100 proposed projects were valued at almost €40 billion. The summit’s stated outcomes included establishing a permanent political dialogue platform, endorsing work toward an EU Macro-Regional Strategy for the Carpathians, and involving governments, businesses, regions and financial institutions in its development. Post navigation Tornado Warning Issued for Northern Utah