Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! Such wonderful images, a wonderful video. I am sure that for this beauty, we need two things. We need time and victory. Dear friends, esteemed participants of our Carpathian summit and its business component. It is very important that the Carpathian initiative begins exactly like this, with practical work and a solid economic foundation. Today we are already holding the political part. I am very glad to see the political leaders who have joined us. We thank you for joining us. You support Ukraine a great deal. Thank you very much. Today, there are almost 1,400 participants present here, including over 800 representatives of governments , regions, and communities, and more than 500 business representatives from all the countries that joined the Carpathian summit. I welcome us all. This is the first summit of this scale for our macro-region. And this region has changed significantly over the years of the war. What was once perceived primarily as a border territory has become an important base for logistics, energy, and industry. Our goal is to ensure the confident growth of Carpathian countries in the coming years, so that there is more investment, more powerful industries, and new opportunities for the entire region. And especially now, given Russia's aggressive, absolutely aggressive policy, there are many reasons to strengthen this region. More security, more powerful energy links, better roads, railways, and, of course, ports. Security always depends on our ability to work together. When our systems are connected and our countries cooperate, our defense also becomes stronger. Today, we already have a concrete practical achievement. Our eight countries represent a joint investment portfolio consisting of 95 projects with a total value of about 40 billion euros. This is a joint regional proposal for investors. For the first time, the Carpathian macro-region is presenting itself as a single market with a single investment portfolio. And today, over 50 agreements worth more than 1 billion euros are ready for signing. And this is just the beginning . This is only the first year of our initiative. I congratulate everyone involved. Energy accounts for about half of the portfolio. And this can become one of the main contributions of the Carpathians to the development of Europe. Solar and wind energy, energy storage, new interconnecting grids, our large underground gas storage facilities. The creation of a Carpathian wind energy cluster with a capacity of 1.5 GW has also been proposed. The Carpathians can become an energy donor for the European Union, rather than just a transit region. And this directly contributes to achieving Europe's goal of energy independence from Russia. Logistics and industry are of no less importance. This refers to new transport corridors, logistics hubs , terminals, processing and storage, as well as new industrial production. The war has clearly proven one thing. When the roads, railways, and ports of neighboring countries work in coordination, trade can continue even under the most difficult conditions, under very complex conditions. So, we need to turn this resilience into permanent infrastructure, not a temporary wartime solution. Our regions and communities must be a real part of this work. Today, about 170 representatives of the Carpathian regions are present here. I am very grateful to you and I welcome you. Mountain communities often face common problems. Roads, the environment, demographics, and development. These are problems that no capital can solve on its own. That is why cooperation between regions and communities is so important and significant, as it yields some of the most sustainable results. We also have a clear willingness from the European Union to support the Carpathian macro-region. Everyone understands why this is so important. And the Carpathian region naturally connects three other European macro-regions: the Baltic, the Alpine, and the Danube. It is here, in the Carpathians, that the main trade, energy, and defense routes from the eastern part of Europe converge. Furthermore, this region is directly connected to the south of Europe. And thanks to our active defense, the Carpathian macro-region has also become an important base for defense production and industries that provide for modern defense. And this role will only grow thanks to our military-technical companies, thanks to our smart people, and thanks to our military. There is also, I believe, an important geopolitical aspect. Carpathian cooperation contributes to bringing Ukraine closer to the European Union. The more our regions, businesses , and communities work together here, the more Ukraine will become a part of the practical life of the European Union. All this cooperation must bring real economic growth, real investments, and real jobs. Thank you for your work. Here today, together, we will make this format powerful. I am 100%sure that the Carpathian initiative is here for the long haul. Glory to Ukraine! See you soon.