World leaders, weapons and new alliances: what will be discussed in Rome at the conference on Ukraine
9 July 20:27
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed an official delegation to participate in the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2025) to be held on July 10-11 in Rome. The delegation will be headed by First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is not part of the delegation.
This event is the latest in a series of annual political forums designed to promote Ukraine’s speedy recovery and long-term reconstruction after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The conference will bring together representatives of governments, international organizations, financial institutions, business, local authorities and civil society. All of them are united by a common goal – to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and to strive to strengthen its resilience.
The White House Special Representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is scheduled to arrive in Rome this week to meet with President Zelensky and join the URC 2025 conference. He is also expected to meet with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to discuss the supply of American weapons.
Other participants in the event include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and other influential world leaders.
Coordination with partners is key to effective reconstruction
In an exclusive commentary for , political scientist Stanislav Zhelikhovsky noted that the conference is aimed not only at outlining plans for post-war reconstruction, but also at forming a common vision on the part of international partners regarding the scale and direction of this reconstruction.
“It is very important that all this happens in coordination with other states. So that the maximum number of players who can invest in Ukraine can offer their own plans, given the difficult state of the economy and infrastructure after the end of hostilities,”
– explained Zhelikhovsky.
He also added that despite the formal focus on recovery, it is important that the conference also addresses issues of ongoing support, including military aid and sanctions against Russia.
“I would like to see new meetings announced. Now we cannot rely on the US alone, and we should emphasize more how Europe can help,”
– the expert added.
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Rome as a platform for “big conversations”
According to political scientist Oleh Lisnyi, Rome will turn into a center of political communication around the Ukrainian issue this week.
“There will be a lot of meetings – with the Pope, the US President’s representative, European leaders and business. This is a good platform to get Ukraine back on the front pages of the press,”
– emphasized Mr. Lisnyi.
According to him, special attention may be paid to bilateral agreements, in particular, military aid from Germany.
“Perhaps the issue of Patriots will be discussed with Merz. They say that Germany wants to buy several systems. All this is being decided right now,”
– Mr. Lisnyi said.
One of the topics of the conference will be the economic attractiveness of Ukraine for foreign business. According to Mr. Lisnyi, the forum will have a clear message – not just a request for help, but an invitation to cooperate.
“It’s almost like the slogan of the conference: we’re not asking for ‘give and take,’ we’re saying ‘come and earn. This will be a case of full-scale reconstruction that will be intensified after the war is over,”
– said the expert.
The event is scheduled to discuss five main areas: humanitarian, business, defense, infrastructure and European integration. It is expected that Ukraine will raise the issue of obstacles on the way to the EU, in particular from Hungary.
The use of frozen assets of the Russian Federation is a topic that cannot be avoided
Another potential area of discussion is the more active use of frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine. According to Lisnyi, this is an idea that Denmark is already promoting, and the conference in Rome is a good opportunity to give it more support.
“This is a topic that Ukraine should promote constantly. So far, it is not in the spotlight, but Rome is an ideal place to take the next step in this direction,”
– the expert is convinced.
Both analysts emphasize that despite the summer and the season of political calm, the Ukrainian issue is not disappearing from the international agenda. The conference in Rome is proof of this.
“It seemed that the summer would be difficult for us – vacations, a pause. But we see that the process continues, and the summer is still Ukraine-centered,”
– summarizes Lisnyi.
The Ukrainian delegation included:
- Yulia Anatoliyivna Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy of Ukraine, head of the delegation;
- Herman Galushchenko, Minister of Energy of Ukraine;
- Vitaliy Koval, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine;
- Kuleba Oleksiy Volodymyrovych – Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine – Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine;
- Sergiy Marchenko – Minister of Finance of Ukraine;
- Andriy Sibiga – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine;
- Smetanin German Volodymyrovych – Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine;
- Olha Stefanishyna, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and Minister of Justice of Ukraine;
- Mykola Tochytskyi – Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine;
- Rustem Enverovych Umerov – Minister of Defense of Ukraine;
- Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
In addition, the President authorized the head of the delegation to make changes to the composition of the Ukrainian delegation in accordance with the established procedure, and to involve experts, advisors, and technical staff in its work.
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