Sustainable Infrastructure in the Central European Initiative (CEI) Region: Regional Cooperation as a Driver for SDG Implementation (HLPF 2026 Side Event)

Good afternoon and welcome, Distinguished ambassadors, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Lidy Arsova and I'm working at the CI Executive Secretariat, is responsible for the external relations.
So on behalf of the Secretariat and of the Secretary-General Franco Delmas, I would like to warmly welcome you all to this event, which is held under the title Sustainable Infrastructure in the CI region Regional Cooperation is a driver for SDG implementation.
The event is part of the program of the Romanian presidency with the Central European Initiative.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude, first of all, to the permanent mission of Romania for the excellent cooperation and organizing this event.
We are particularly honored by the presence of Mr.
Alaso Borbli here, state counsel to the Prime Minister of Romania, who is actually the most prominent figure of the country as regards sustainable development.
I would also like to thank the co sponsors of this event, the permanent missions of Italy.
Italy is the host country of the CI Secretariat.
And then of Serbia, we're still waiting for Macedic of Ukraine as members of the Troika, namely previous and incoming CI presidency, as well as the Institute Afar Internationale, which is our scientific partner.
I would like to thank all of them for the valuable support and contribution to this initiative.
A warm thank you.
Also goes to all our speakers, partners, and participants for joining us today.
Before we begin, allow me to briefly explain why we are gathered here.
Earlier this year in March, the CI Secretariat celebrated its 30th anniversary since the establishment.
We organized a high level conference in Tries, the Italy where it is based.
The conference brought together numerous deputy prime ministers, foreign ministers, and other high level representatives of the member states to reflect on the future role of the CI in the rapidly evolving geopolitical context.
One of the key messages emerging from this reflection was the growing importance of the connectivity, in particular in terms of sustainable infrastructure for the future of the region.
And this event is somehow a continuation of the discussion.
And since the topic goes beyond political considerations alone and is closely linked to the achievement of the SDGs, today's discussion brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including first and foremost, I would say the some UN entities, then institutional representatives, and also practitioners to exchange perspectives and highlight how regional cooperation can translate commitments into concrete action.
So without further delay, it is my great pleasure to give the floor to Mr.
Lars Borbi for his actually opening of the event.
Thank you very much.
The floor is yours.
Thank you very much.
5 minutes.
Thank you very much.
Yeah.
Thank you very much for coming for this very important meeting because there are so many countries who has a very important role in this part of Europe.
I have my memories because I have I don't know, don't ask me how old I am.
I'm very young in my soul.
But basically in 2000-2004, I was the chair of this Parliamentarian Committee of Central European Initiative.
I have some memories and always I say for me and for my colleagues that Also because of geopolitical part of status of Romania in this part, I hope that we are promoters of those values and those attitude of this part of Europe.
We have two presidencies in this moment, also CIA and the Southeast European process from 1st of July, we have the opportunity to have it regarding myself a I had some about 26 years of political background, and after that, it's a wonderful adventure for me and I hope also for my colleagues.
I have colleagues and thank you very much for my colleagues and from the partners who organized this meeting, and of course, for our office in New York.
Thank you very much.
And it was very important for me in 2017, I was the former chair of CSD 19 2010-2011.
And I realized how important is the sustainable development from 2017, I lead the department near the Prime Minister's office, and we are in charge to implement Agenda 2030 in Romania.
I have to say that we are, I hope, some regional hub and one of my colleagues knows about our activity, but I will not enter in details regarding our activity.
Of course, sustainable development is everywhere.
Sustainable development, in my opinion, it's an attitude, and that's why we are here to have an attitude to our life, to our mentality, and it's a never ending story.
No where we are in our lives, but we have to have a balance, we have to have some attitude regarding our society.
Regarding the Central European Initiative, Of course, our motto is closer in the region, stronger in Europe and is not accidentally because this part of Europe need more help from European Union, in my opinion, and we need collaboration because the regional and local collaboration is one of the most important part of our activity.
Of course, regarding transport, energy, digital infrastructure, we have a lot of meetings and we need to have we need to have some more data and to focus also on what we are thinking about sustainable development.
It's an bridge between your member states and the Western Balkans and other parts of Europe.
Now it's a very difficult period.
We have war.
We have some risks regarding other parts of the world, and we have to have a very clear answer on this.
What will be our answer.
And regional cooperation is very important also in SDG implementation, sustainable infrastructure and connectivity, our investments in resilience, competitiveness, and social cohesion.
Of course, we promote a more connected, resilient and sustainable region, contributing to a stronger Europe and a more effective implementation of Agenda 2030.
Regarding the this priority.
It's important maybe to co two dimensions because as I understood, there are some intentions to have in October in Brussel joint meeting, Central European Initiative and Southeast European Initiative to have and of course, we will have discussions with the commission to have this kind of meeting regarding how we can influence to have more support from European Union.
And, of course, regarding the If we are discussing stronger involvement of local authorities, the localization of the 2030 agenda.
For us, it's a big challenge, and we are in the stage to revise our strategy and how to connect more to the local communities because it's important to have the relationship with citizens.
And that's why in Romania, we have in this moment two major achievements regarding how to educate our flipper and how to use the EI possibilities, artificial intelligence possibilities to do more on this field.
In this content, we have to discuss also on the level of different regional bodies because best practices, it's good to have it.
In this moment, we have a new job in Romania, expert in sustainable development.
In this moment, we have more than 2000 experts in sustainable development by post universitarian training and it's a wonderful elite of Romanian public administration to have more than 2000 from that 1,600 they are from local level.
And it's important about the attitude of different parts of public administration.
Secondly, we launch as soon as possible in a couple of weeks virtual center of resources, a platform, which will be unique in this part of go Pi Hope, with all the information regarding sustainable development.
Starting from, you know, the sustainability report, and of course, with different analyses strategies on the level of European Union, on the level of United Nations.
All of them, they are in this platform which will be useful for all citizens not just Romania.
Third, it's very important how we organize our public administration regarding the not just the part of sustainability, but how to influence different parts of the government, how to make decisions.
That's why we have in Romania so called hubs in each ministry regarding our strategies, our action plan.
We are coordinating the circular economy, Romania, the alternative for.
We are at the center of government and we have a very important goal regarding policy cohgence, of course, sustainable development, but we are talking about sustainable finance and other parts of sustainable development.
So I hope that we can help each other and Romania based on these priorities formulated by the first part of the year, we'll be partner, we will be a an engine and will be alliance between different countries of this area.
It's a very difficult period, but we have to put our energies.
We had to put also political willingness of different countries to do more for this region.
Of course, we will enter in some details, but I am very eager to find your opinions and how to go forward to this very important region.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Borbery, for your insight on the mass.
I'd also like to thank Romania for the strong leadership of the CIA presidency.
I can confirm that it's really acts as a regional hub because so far it organized a number of activities in manifold areas sustainable development today, but also on European integration, resilience and many others.
So thank you very much.
Now, I will turn to His Excellency Ambassador Georgio Marapodi, the permanent representative of Italy to the United Nations.
As the cost country of the Secretariat say Italy has constantly invested in with political vision, with resources, and also a lot of commitment in the past, but also for the future course of the CI.
Ambassador Mapodi, we will be very interested to hear your views on the topic today.
Please, the floor is yours.
5 minutes.
Thank you very much.
Yes, thank you.
I also wish to thank you and to all the organizers of this meeting.
Let me start on a personal note to say that I'm very glad to be here with you to this event because I consider triesta my second hometown, or second house for me.
By definition, by definition, I am a supporter of Central European initiative and of course, of the whole UN and UN hub tris of international scientific organization that is on the other side in the hills of the city.
Thank you.
You were mentioning in your opening remarks about the 30th anniversary of the Central European Initiative.
This is also something that I've been following since the very first steps in the beginning of the 90s with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time.
I think that that meeting, the 30th anniversary was very useful to reaffirm the role of the organization of the CEI as a key platform for political dialogue, technical cooperation, European convergence in a region of great strategic importance for the stability, security, and prosperity of the European continent.
Italy, as you were mentioning, Italy is committed to Central European initiative.
We have been since the very beginning and and we are planning to be also for the future of the organization, committed to promoting regional cooperation.
And European integration also through CI in the belief that these goals are not mutually exclusive, but they are complementary because they reinforce one another.
Regional cooperation is precisely the pivotal of connectivity in its various manifestations to useful to support the achievement of SDGs in line with technical regulatory, technological, environmental standards set by the European Union.
And we so believe in this that the CEI fund at the EBRD, which is financed entirely by Italy, serves as a strategic tool through which Italy contributes to the growth of an investment in network infrastructure in Central European initiative member countries, which are candidates to the European Union membership in order to support their accession.
For over 30 years, as we said, this agile, high value added tool has supported the technical assistance initiative in this country, some of which are represented here today and it has done so by working alongside the EBRD through reform process, capacity building, and during the preparation and implementation of investments financed by the bank.
Even recently during meetings with the bank leadership, we could note a full alignment on priority issues such as regional connectivity, the green transition, sustainable infrastructure, digitalization, support for Ukraine, and the competitiveness of SMEs.
Italy is therefore looking forward to the presentation and the firsthand accounts of how the Central European Initiative, its member states, and regional cooperation are contributing to the achievement of SDGs.
Finally, I would like to highlight the Central European initiatives potential, given also its consultative status with the General Assembly and its natural commitment to sustainable development, we intend to continue working with the CI in the coming months alongside with the Romanian presidency, starting also with the binnial resolution on the CI UN collaboration and the CI ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming General Assembly.
Thank you.
Thank you again, and I look forward to hear the other speakers of the day.
Thank you.
Yes.
Thank you very much, Ambassador Mapodi for your views.
We are of course very grateful to Italy for the longstanding support, especially through the CI Fund and the EBRD confirmed that this instrument really plays an important role in supporting technical assistance, preparing some strategic investments, and promoting sustainable development.
Today we will have a testimonial of this actually cooperation here and we also look forward to cooperate with you and with Romania on the resolution to be adopted this year.
So I would like now to turn to Serbia and welcome Ambassador Rdmrlich.
Serbia is located, we say that it's IT is located in the heart of the CIA region and along several Europe's corridors plays an important role in promoting the connectivity, regional cooperation, and economic integration for the whole region.
And these were also themes that featured prominently last year during Serbia's presidency last year, I would like now to invite you to hear your view about today's topic as well.
So please, the floor is yours.
5 minutes.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Excellency distinguished colleagues.
Allow me to express my sincere appreciation to the Romanian presidency of the Central European Initiative, the S Executive Secretariat, and all partners for convening this discussion.
It is particularly fitting that we gather here at the UN to discuss sustainable infrastructure, not simply as an economic issue, but as a foundation for sustainable development, resilience, and international cooperation.
For many years, infrastructure was primarily measured in kilometers of roads, railways, or pipelines.
Today, we understand it differently.
Infrastructure is no longer only about what we build.
It is about what we enable.
It enables resilience in the times of crisis.
It enables economic opportunity, and it enables social inclusion.
And perhaps, most importantly, it enables the trust between nations.
The experiences of recent years from the pandemic to disruption of global supply chains, the energy crisis and the growing impact of climate change have demonstrated that infrastructure is no longer merely as economic asset.
It has become strategic infrastructure, not because it serves governments, but because it safeguards societies.
For Serbia, connectivity is therefore far more than a transport policy.
It is part of our long term vision for development.
Located at the crossroads of central and southeastern Europe, Serbia has always connected regions, cultures, and markets.
Our ambition today is to ensure that this geographical position becomes an opportunity not only for Serbia, but for divide wider region.
Because infrastructure creates value only when it connects people.
Railway is not simply steel and concrete.
It is a student reaching a university, a family traveling more safely, a young entrepreneur accessing new markets, a producer exporting more efficiently, a community becoming less isolated.
Ultimately, sustainable infrastructure is about expanding opportunities for the people.
The understanding has guided Serbia's investment in recent years.
The modernization of the Belgrade Budapest high speed railway is one example.
Beyond reducing travel times, it strengthens one of Europe's principal north south transport corridors, bringing the Western Balkans and Central Europe closer together and creating new opportunities for trade, tourism, and investment.
The Ba intermodal terminal Belgrade offers another example.
While perhaps less visible than a high speed rail, it reflects the future of sustainable logistics, combining rail and road transport, reducing emissions, increasing efficiency, and strengthening Serbian's integration into European supply chains.
These investments demonstrate an important principle.
Modern infrastructure is not only about moving faster, it's about moving smarter.
Yet perhaps no example illustrates the meaning of regional connectivity better than Danube.
Following through ten European countries, Danube reminds us every day the geography does not divide us, it connects us.
The Danube also teaches something even more important.
No single country can manage a river alone.
Flood protection requires cooperation, environmental protection requires cooperation.
Navigation requires cooperation, economic development requires cooperation.
In many ways, the Danube is not only a river, it is a living example of multilateralism.
The same principle applies to every Mor infrastructure network.
Transport corridors do not stop at national borders.
Electricity grids cannot function insulation.
Digital economics require interoperability.
Resilient societies require trusted partnership.
This is precisely why regional cooperation reminds indispensable.
The sustainable development goals also remind us of another important lesson.
Development cannot be achieved sector by sector.
The goals reinforce one another.
A railroad contributes to invocation and infrastructure.
As Serbia perhaps prepares the host expo 2027, we see another opportunity to demonstrate how investment in sustainable mobility, urban development, innovation, and international cooperation can generate benefits that extend well beyond national borders.
We see infrastructure not as an end itself, but as a platform upon which societies innovate, economies grow and people connect.
Allow me to conclude with one final reflection.
The Danube teaches us that rivers can connect countries, infrastructure connects economies, cooperation connects people, trust connects the future.
If we succeed in building all four, we will not only accelerate the implementation of the sustainable development goals.
We will leave future generations a region that is more connected, more resilient, and more prosperous than the one we inherited.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Ambassador Ilych, and I can confirm that we also view the connectivity in all its aspects, connectivity of infrastructure, but also economies, institutions, and ultimately people.
So thank you very much for your views.
And I would like now to invite Mr.
Volodymyr Pavlchnko, the deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations.
I know you have been recently assumed this duties, so congratulations and a lot of success.
Ukraine occupies really a special place within the CI family.
Despite the extraordinary challenges it is facing, it is also demonstrating some remarkable resilience and determination and continuing to make important progress on its path towards European Union membership.
So congratulations also on the recent milestone.
We are pleased that Ukraine will also assume the CIA presidency next year and we look forward to that.
So we would be delighted to hear your reflections on the role of regional cooperation and sustainable infrastructure, and of course, maybe some of your vision for the next year.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Pavel, because the f is Vdia.
Thank you for your welcome words and congratulations.
Thank you all here.
I would like to thank the Romanian presidency for convening this meeting and we were very glad to co sponsor it I'd like to say that for Ukraine, the sustainable and resilient infrastructure is not only about the development.
It's about the recovery, long term peace, and return of our people from all other countries who are currently displaced.
Today, you all see that our civilian infrastructure is attacked massively by the Russian Federation with all the missiles and others, and May and June were the deadliest, and July is following the same trend.
This aggression also remains a cross border threat.
And in March, Russian missile and drone targeted Ukrainian, no Nostrosky the power plant, which caused a disaster for Moldova and the leak of oils, and the government issued an environmental alert.
So it's not only about Ukraine, but also for Romania with the drones.
But even in these difficult circumstances, we are already thinking ahead.
And once peace is restored, Ukraine will become one of the Europe's largest and most important reconstruction projects, the same as you've seen after the Second World War, like a Marshall Plan.
And as your Secretary-General said in Dansk, the reconstruction of Ukraine is the future for Europe.
And this is why we value so much the Central European Initiative, because it also unites you all and inspiration for the European you member member states and candidate states, and we really expect that you will help us to accelerate this process and that we will become a member soon.
And I'm originally from Ternopl, Western Ukraine, and just a few weeks ago, I met with the mayor and I personally seen how Italy through the C Fund together with the financing, technical assistance for procurement and project management and especially with the renewing the trolley bus project, because I still remember the times when I was taking Skoda trolley bus from 1978, and it's still running.
So I hope that you will help us in changing that.
And this city also became one of the strongholds for internally displaced persons.
The new families found their peace there, and your support is very valuable for them.
But in broader way, the establishment and development of the transport corridors, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure also help us to reach the main goal, like the sustainable development goals.
And in this process, we also count very much on UNDP and UNPS and your support is highly valued and contribution was instrumental.
Actually, you are really helping our communities there, and we hope that you will help us with their return, too.
And looking ahead to our presidency, we're still working on the main initiatives with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but we intend to build on the excellent work made by Romanian presidency focused on strengthening regional resilience, sustainable infrastructure, digital and green transformation.
And we will work closer in regional cooperation, support European integration and the implementation of 2003 30 agenda.
And today's discussion reminds that no country can build resilient infrastructure alone, and only together we can achieve this sustainable development.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Plchnko.
Yeah, for us, Ukraine's forthcoming presidency reflects our shared commitment to the countries to the recovery, to the reconstruction, and to its European future, and we stand with Ukraine in global detail.
So thank you very much.
So with this, we finished with the opening addresses, and we go now to the keynote ones.
For the CIA cooperation with the United Nations is extremely important.
Our observer status at the United Nations General Assembly reflects our commitment to multilateralism and to working together with you a UN sorry, in pursuit of our shared objectives.
Bring this commitment into practice, we have developed over the years, strong cooperation with several agencies, programs, and other organizations of the UN system like UNDP, UNEC UNESCO and WHO, and we are extremely interested to further engage with the United Nations Office for Project Services in areas of common interest.
We are extremely honored to have here the presence of the Executive Director of the UN OPS and UN Under Secretary-General Jorge Mora Da Silva, so please the floor is yours.
Thank you very much, Lja.
I'd like to thank the Secretary of CI and the presidency of Romania for this invitation, excellencies.
It's a pleasure to join you today and especially also with my colleague and friend Ivana from UNDP.
I think it's going to be a very interesting exchange as the two agencies complement very well and we partner a lot in this area of infrastructure.
UNOS, as you know, is the UN agency with a mandate on infrastructure, project management, and procurement, and we've been making the case for infrastructure as a senquium condition for SEGs and climate action.
And we've done some research a few years ago with Oxford University.
We tried to understand what are the impact of infrastructure on the 2030 agenda and the fact that the findings were quite compelling.
92% of all SEG targets depend on infrastructure.
92% and 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions are related with infrastructure.
Clearly, if we want to take the 2030 agenda seriously, both on the SEG and on the climate, we need to prioritize infrastructure.
That's why I really want to congratulate you for putting infrastructure at the core of today's conversation as definitely it's a sine qu condition.
Same time, we know that infrastructure can also be perceived as an integrator.
For instance, when we go to climate negotiations, we tend to address the conversations in silos, adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, and infrastructure can be an integrator from adaptation to mitigation.
When we build a house or a road or any infrastructure, it should be good enough to prevent future shocks, so to be resilient to shocks, to be good on adaptation, but it must be also low carbon, ideally net zero to contribute to climate mitigation.
It's also an integrator of the humanitarian development piece.
We can't rebuild or provide support to a country during war.
Overlooking the impact of that immediate response also in the longer term.
So when we go to a country to provide basic human needs during conflict through humanitarian, we should already do that considering what will be the next steps on early recovery and on reconstruction.
So in a moment where everyone is asking, where are we on the Nexus? After so many years approving the Nexus, I think that infrastructure can be an integrator and active contributor to a continuum from humanitarian peace and development.
And third, a an integrator of sustainability and resilience, and a good example, it's the corridors.
The corridors are on energy or transportation or for food systems.
The corridors are fundamental for resilience, but if they are developed in a way that is environmentally friendly, It's also fundamental for sustainability.
This is why I think that your conversation, your discussion on infrastructure is so important as it is not only an active contributor to the 2030 agenda, but it can also be perceived as an integrator of so many agenda that are very often disper.
The other element that I think it's important is to integrate the policy, the financing, and the implementation.
Of course, synops is just about implementation.
We don't develop policies, standards, strategies.
That's up to member states and that's up to UNDP.
For instance, in our case, we are just on implementation.
What our experience shows is when it comes to infrastructure, for things to succeed, we really need to address the three dimensions in a comprehensive manner and cot manner, the policy coerence with innovative finance and with capacity for implementation.
I know many cases where there are policy reforms put in place in a country for infrastructure, countries where the financing is available, but then due to the lack of capacity for implementation, those countries struggle in dispersing and benefiting from the enabling context that the policy reforms are creating.
I think that it's really important when we talk about infrastructure to bring these three dimensions of policy, finance, and implementation.
I was planning to mention several projects that we have been developing, for instance, in Ukraine in Albania, in Montenegro, Montenegro and Kosovo, in many countries present here, but in the interest of time, I will not go through the list.
I would say that in all those projects and including Moldova, in all those projects that we have been partnering with countries from the CI on infrastructure, as the State Councilor Lazlo Boro said, it's not about bricks and steel.
It's about the social outcomes of that infrastructure.
So to conclude, I think that there are three elements that very often we face when it comes to infrastructure, which is the predictability, the stability, the citizens involvement.
When we have elections, things may change.
So how can we preserve stability, predictability, long term perspectives when it comes to infrastructure? I'm a former politician from Europe.
I was minister in Portugal on environment and energy, and I worked hard many years ago for the energy interconnections in Europe to ensure that Portugal, Spain, and France would have a real interconnection and connectivity with Europe, that would be a benefit for everyone.
For those in Iberian Peninsula, but also for those that wouldn't have access to renewable energy in Central Europe.
I'm not going to talk about that because I can't, but just to say that the big issue when it comes to this big project is predictability, stability, the citizens involvement.
It's really important when we know that our funding issues, permitting and licensing issues.
It's important to build on the interdependence So the more we share with citizens, the interdependence, the greater will be the political support for this interconnectivity, these connectivity projects.
So building on interdependence, the multidimensionality, and the resilience.
So those are concepts that, in my opinion, are fundamental to generate the political support from taxpayers, voters, consumers for many, many years because as you know, infrastructure takes time.
And being the agency that does infrastructure, it's really important that we protect these projects from the instability of the political cycles.
The second thing and it's the last thing is about impact.
It's important to communicate with citizens about not the number of schools that have been constructed, but the number of kids children that have access to education, not the number of hospitals that have been constructed, but the number of citizens that have access to health.
Translating the infrastructure into outcomes, not outputs is crucial.
I know that this is at the center of your deliberation.
Thank you for the invitation.
Okay.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Mora da Silva.
I think that there is a great potential for our organizations to cooperate so we can follow up, I hope after this meeting and I can confirm that our instruments are really trying to combine the three dimensions which you mentioned.
We have a number of instruments.
Our deputy Secretary-General will present our working methodology.
So this policy financing and implementation, and I also agree with you about the citizens involvement because it's very important for them to understand and not to seize the opportunities, of course.
So now the CI and UNDP have crossed paths on many occasions across our region, co financing and supporting a wide range of activities only a month ago.
We also together an event in Montenegro on gender equality.
It's And so we support together this wide range of activities aimed at advancing capacity building and also sustainable development.
So it is really a great pleasure to welcome miss Ivana Jakovic, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, and also United Nations Assistant Secretary-General.
P.
Miss vk, the floor is yours.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Lydia.
It is great to be here.
And let me begin by thanking the CI Secretariat and the Romanian presidency as well as permanent missions of Romania, Italy, Ukraine, and Serbia for bringing us all together on this important topic.
I also want to congratulate the CI Secretariat on its 30th anniversary, which we marked together in three March.
Today, at the opening of high level political forum, we have the goals under review on water, energy, infrastructure, cities, and partnerships.
Partnerships every year we take stock of.
And this is also the very substance of this panel.
The state that the goals are in need no restating in this room, but rather what we need is look at the trajectory at what we can still change by year 2030 and how sustainable infrastructure sits very high on that list because it's one of the investments that work for every other of the goals.
Infrastructure links economies to markets, citizens to institutions, businesses to opportunities, and people to the skills and services they need to.
And it does not stop at borders, as we have heard from other speakers, energy grids, transport corridors, water systems, and data flows are regional by nature, and so must be our solutions.
That is why connectivity and regional cooperation matters.
The CI combines political dialogue with practical project based cooperation, while the United Nations and UNDP in particular bring country presence, impartiality, knowledge, and trust.
Together, we turn commitments into delivery.
And I will give you an example where UNDP and CEI, most recently in Serbia, collaborated through the CI know how exchange program that connected Serbian and Italian institutions to accelerate the digital transformation of public services.
And this is the wider logic of our cooperation because no government can deliver agenda alone.
We also work regionally.
We have a regional hub and through joint work on shared the river basins, cybersecurity, anti corruption, small arms control, and labor mobility.
We make sure that one country's specialists support the neighbor's issues or problems.
Also, under the UN 80, there is a work package expertise on demand, which will further strengthen UN wide effort in this endeavor of sharing the best practices and knowledges.
So I just want to quickly share a few examples, and one also with impact, as Georgia mentioned on energy and water in Ukraine the infrastructure keeps coming under attack.
And so far, we mobilized $600 million since the start of the war war for energy recovery.
And often we also invest into more sustainable energy solutions and distributed energy provisions.
So this effort in 2025 restored and maintained energy services for more than 6.6 million people, while also helping municipalities sustain essential water services across the country.
In Serbia and Bosnia, Herzegovina on sustainable cities and communities, we support decarbonization and energy efficiency, including refurbishing public buildings such as health and education facilities.
And in Moldova, we are supporting the E Social Service, which is a digital alert platform that will bring together, so it's already bringing together the social protection services.
In Ukraine, 74 e services have supported the internally displaced persons after the war has begun and in North Macedonia, the e municipal services and digital literacy, including for older persons because connectivity must leave no one behind.
But to be clear, infrastructure is only as strong as the institutions and the people behind it and pipes, grids, and platforms do not deliver the goals.
Institutions must be able to plan, procure, regulate, and maintain while people must have the skills to seize these opportunities that investment creates.
This is why capacity development runs through everything that we do.
Across the Southeast Europe alone, UNDP has invested more than $327 million since 2024 in reforms from public administration to green and digital transitions that make infrastructure investment possible and that make it last.
Finally, partnerships, the investment gap will not be closed by public budgets alone.
We need national budgets, we need international financial institutions, bilateral partners, and private capital working together.
Behind the plans that countries own, and these country plans need to speak to each other within the governments.
The national development plans have to be aligned with NDCs, for example, the nationally determined contributions, the other budget, and other planning different documents.
So since the CI was founded, several of its member states have joined the European Union, and now some of those member states are supporting work in other countries, including through UNDP as donors.
And jointly, the task ahead for all of us is to build the next generation of infrastructure, which is green, digital, inclusive, and resilient so that the whole region will be carried forward in the same way.
I look forward to the remaining of the discussion.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, miss Jeff and thank you very much for mentioning the importance of turning commitments into delivery, which is exactly the focus of the panel discussion that we will follow and also about the importance of partnerships.
So I really hope to continue to cooperate in the future.
Since we are running out of time, I would like to thank the our speakers for the input, suggestions, and contributions of which we take note you note, of course.
But I'm immediately giving the floor now to Federico Castloi who will moderate the panel discussion and guide us through the perspectives of our distinguished partners and friends who are here with us today.
Federico, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Lydia.
Ladies and gentlemen, excellences.
Welcome to this panel devoted to Sustainable Infrastructure in the CI region, this is a space dedicated as the leader pointed out to the organization and its impact more specifically.
My name is Federico Caselione researcher at the Italian Institute of International Affairs.
I'll have the pleasure to chair this upcoming discussion that I'm sure will give us new ideas and perspectives about the entanglement between the UN and CII agendas.
As you can see in the program, the paranel is divided into two complementary models.
A strategic framing of regional cooperation in the CAI region which will address the importance of CI for the sake of the UN SDGs, accomplishments, and some best practices, providing us with concrete examples of how the CI operates within these same strategic framework and approach.
The goal is not only to design theorthically, but to design practical connections between the UN and CI, as I mentioned, and the panel will be introduced by Ivana Payvic, CI Deputy Secretary-General.
And while thanking all of you and the speakers that I will introduce later one by one, I'll leave the floor for the introductory remarks.
Thank you, Chair.
Excellency Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure and honor for me to be here today in the name of our Secretary-General and on behalf of the Central European Initiative, regional intergovernmental organization that brings together 17 countries from Central Eastern and Southeastern Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic and the Black Seas, with a mission to promote European integration and sustainable development.
Let me beginning by thanking the Romanian CI presidency for organizing this side event at the UN high level political forum 2026 through the permanent mission.
I will also extend my appreciation to the permanent representative of CI member states for joining us today and to all our partners and guests.
Today's event is intended to showcase how CI cooperation works in the practice.
At its core, the cooperation is built on robust and structured intergovernmental dialogue.
Our member states meet regularly at various levels from Ministry of Foreign Affairs to national coordinators and to the end of the sectorial experts to address shared priorities.
Beyond governmental, we also engage through our parliament, economic and local dimension and encourage the active participation of young people through our young agenda, as well as other stakeholders.
This way, the political dialogue is complementary and complemented by a strong action oriented approach that translates policy into concrete cooperation through projects and capacity building activities, supporting a rank of funds, programs, and instruments.
What does this mean for 2030 agenda and SDGs? Crucially, that means that CI actively contributes to the implementation of the 2030 agenda through both high level political engagement and hands on cooperation.
Our work closely reflect the priorities of the year's high level political forum TAMA and all the SDGs under review with a particular emphasis on partnership.
Innovation and coordinated actions.
In this context, connectivity has become one of our strategic priorities.
We believe that advancing regional connectivity can significantly accelerate the implementation of SDGs.
This is particularly important because our region has become increasingly strategic in a rapidly evolving geopolitical and economical environment.
Located at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, it is emerging as a bridge linking a major transport energy and digital corridors to the heart of Europe.
Our objective is therefore to strengthen regional connectivity, particularly across the Western Balkans, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine by helping to address infrastructure gaps and administrative barriers.
I'm therefore particularly pleased to welcome our distinguished representatives from Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina who will share with us their national experience and perspectives on the topic from two regions that are center of today's discussion, Eastern Europe and Western Balkans.
I'm therefore also particularly pleased that the representatives of Serbian railways infrastructure will present several ongoing railway corridor projects in Serbia, supporting through the CI Fund EBRD and financed entirely by Italy, which we are so grateful.
That is concrete example of what I mentioned before, translating policy into concrete action.
At the same time, investments require resilience and sustainable communities in order for critical infrastructure to function effectively.
I'm therefore equally pleased to welcome the representatives of Varminsko Masolskship, which will the support of the CI Cooperation Fund was implemented and is currently implementing project aimed at strengthening the resilience of communities in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to treat affecting critical infrastructure, including that role and man made disasters.
Through these two funds, the CI Fund EBRD and the CI cooperation Fund, we support investments, strengthening institutional capacities, and promote peer to peer cooperation, bringing together institution and professionals across the region.
Finally, I'm delighted that today we are joined by Ivan ukvich, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator of UNDPB with whom we have already co financed a number of capacity building activities.
The role, As we approach the final stretch towards 2030, we stand ready to scale up our efforts, deepening our engagement, also in view of our upcoming plan of action and continue working hand in hand with the United Nations and all our partners to turn the goals into reality through concrete actions and steadfast partnerships.
Also, I want to thank again all of you to be here with us today.
I sincerely hope that our meeting will contribute to these shared goals and above all, generate concrete follow up and new opportunities for cooperation.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, indeed, Deputy Secretary-General.
We do have two distinguished speakers that will lay out these strategic perspectives and they will have this difficult task to reconcile two national case studies with a wider regional cooperation and development driven forward by the EI.
George Glioca, permanent representative of the Republic of Moldova to the UN, thank you for being here and Milo Splitza ambassador at large, co chair of the Council for the implementation of the SDGs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mr.
Levsa, the floor is yours, please.
Thank you, moderator.
Allow me to begin by thanking the Romanian presidency of the Central European Initiative for organizing this timely discussion and for placing sustainable infrastructure high on this year's agenda.
For the Republic of Moldova, sustainable infrastructure is far more than a sectorial policy.
It is a strategic investment in resilience, competitiveness, European integration, and sustainable development, these objectives being inseparable as demonstrated in our national voluntary Review, which is to presented here at the UN in two days and despite unprecedented external challenges, including the regional energy crisis and the consequences of the Russian world, of aggression against Ukraine.
We have continued to invest in transport connectivity, digital transformation, energy security, and local development.
These investments are not simply economic measures.
They are strategic tools for achieving the sustainable development goals while advancing on our European integration agenda.
This vision is fully reflected in our national development strategy, European Moldova 2030, where the implementation of the SDGs and the EU accession process reinforce one another.
The results are already visible.
My country has significantly improved transport connectivity through road rehabilitations, expanded air links in the implementation of mobility strategy 2030.
Digital infrastructure has reached unprecedented levels with nearly universal full GED coverage and rapidly expanding digital public services.
At the same time, investment in water and sanitation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electricity grid modernization are strengthening both sustainability and energy resilience.
Yet, these achievements also remind us of important reality.
Infrastructure alone is not enough.
It's true that value lies in regional interoperability.
For countries like the Republic of Moldova, Sustainable infrastructure is inherently regional.
Transport corridors do not end at national borders.
Energy security depends on interconnected markets.
Digital transformation requires compatible systems and common standards, and climate resilience demand coordinated regional action.
This is precisely where the Central European Initiative brings real added value by bringing together EU member states and candidate countries, BCI has created the practical platform for technical cooperation, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and regional connectivity.
In this regard, we fully support the priorities of the Romanian presidency, supporting EU integration, strengthening connectivity and business networks, enhancing resilience, and empowering local communities.
These priorities reflect exactly the comprehensive approach our region needs today.
Looking ahead, we believe our common efforts should focus on four strategic priorities.
First, strengthening cross border transport and logistical corridors.
Second, accepting regional energy connectivity and renewable energy deployment.
Third, investing in secure and inclusing digital infrastructure, and fourth, reinforcing international institutional capacities to prepare, finance, and implement sustainable infrastructure projects.
The sustainable development goals cannot be achieved through isolated national efforts.
Neither can European integration.
In European integration both require connectivity, partnership, and regional ownership.
The CI has demonstrated that regional solidarity can be transformed into practical cooperation.
The Republic of Moldova remains fully committed to working with the CAI partners to ensure that sustainable infrastructure becomes not only an investment priority, but also a strategic driver of resilience, prosperity, and a stronger, more integrated Europe.
I thank you.
Thank you, indeed for rendering as the escape of the crossover between Moldova and the CIA and what the country is doing in the wider strategic approach following the CIA action plan, and of course, for your respect for the time limits, which I know is very challenging in this framework.
I'm handing it over immediately to Ambassador Priza.
Pase the floor is yours.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Moderator.
At the outset, allow me to express my sincere appreciation to the Central European Initiative, the Romanian CI presidency and the organizer of the important discussion.
I would particularly like to thank miss Lid Arsova and the CEI Executive Secretariat for convening this timely event and for keeping sustainable development high on the regional agenda.
Let me also acknowledge the high level contributions of State Councilor Laslo Barberi, Ambassador Georgio Arapo, Ambassador Rmirch, Deputy Permanent Representative Volodymyr Pavlchnko and we especially thank UN Under Secretary-General and UPS ahead, Mr.
Da Silva and also UN Assistant Secretary-General, miss vkviic for their keynote reflections and the continued support UNDP in advancing sustainable development across our region and especially in Bosnia and Herzevina where UNDP team is providing leading support in the implementation of SDGs.
It is an honor to participate alongside distinguished representatives from Moldova, Serbia, and Poland and to share Bosnia and Herzevina's experience in advancing sustainable infrastructure risk catalysts for achieving the sustainable development goals.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as we approach the final stretch towards 2030, one message is becoming increasingly clear.
Sustainable infrastructure is not only an SEG objective in itself, is the most empowerful enabler of all the SEGs.
Whether we speak about clean energy, transport corridors, water systems, digital connectivity, resilient cities, or social infrastructure, these investments shape our economic competitiveness, social inclusion, climate resilience, and long term prosperity.
For countries of the Central European Initiative region, sustainable infrastructure is also a tool for strengthening regional cooperation, reducing development gaps, and accelerating convergence with European standards.
Bosnia and Herzevina strongly believes that regional cooperation is no longer optional, it is essential.
The challenges we face are shared energy security, climate risk, connectivity gaps.
Therefore, many of the solutions must be also shared.
In Bosnia and Herzevina important progress has been achieved in recent years in creating the institutional and financial foundations for sustainable infrastructure development.
Experience reflects a broader lessons relevant for the CI region.
Achieving the SEGs requires not only good projects, but also innovative financing mechanisms capable of attracting public and private capital at scale.
When discussing sustainable infrastructure, energy transition remains one of the most important priorities.
Bosnia and Herzevina has already received its national 2025 targets regarding the shared of renewable energy in final energy consumption.
In 2023, renewables accounted for 40% of total final energy consumption.
Recent investments have expanded our renewable energy capacity, including the commissioning of the 84 megaat e wind farm and several large scale solar power plants connected to the grid during 2024.
Also, transport connectivity is another area where regional cooperation can generate transformational impact for landlocked and transit countries alike, transport infrastructure directly affects competitiveness, investment, and social cohesion.
Bosnia and Herevina continues to invest in the Pan European Corridor five C, our most important transport artery connecting the country with regional and European markets.
New sections were opened during 2025, although we recognize that further acceleration is needed to fully unlock the corridor's economic potential.
Also until 2030, we expect that Ranian corridor passing through Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop and also also highways between Banua and Belgrade, and Saevon and Belgrade, but we have to emphasize that unfortunately, railway network in the whole Balkans is very much lagging behind and being very much out of date.
Improved road, rail, and digital connectivity throughout the CI region.
Would not only facilitate trade and mobility, but also contribute directly to SDG nine through more resilient infrastructure and stronger regional integration.
Also, Bosnia and Herzevians placed strong emphasis on the localization of the SDGs.
With the UNDP support, 14 SDG focus projects were implemented recently in municipalities and cantons across the country, benefiting nearly 45,000 people dealing with health and digital services, social inclusion, employment support, and improved access to public services, particularly for vulnerable groups.
Innovation and digital transformation must also become central pillars of sustainable infrastructure strategies.
Today, infrastructure is increasingly intelligent, interconnected, and data driven from digital public services and smart energy management to AI supported monitoring systems and climate resilience tools, technology is helping us deliver better outcomes with fewer resources.
Finally, allow me to emphasize one lessons that emerges clearly from Bosnia and Herzevina's SG implementation experience.
Partnerships really matters.
Our progress has been made possible through cooperation among different levels of government, local authorities, the private sector, civil society, academia, international financial institutions, and the United Nations system.
Partnerships with UNDP and European Union, Switzerland and other development partners have helped strengthen capacities, mobilize financing, and accelerate implementation.
The same principle applies at the regional level.
The CI demonstrates that regional cooperation is not simply about coordination, it is about creating added value that no country could achieve on its own.
Excellence is, as we move toward 2030, the question before us is not whether we can afford to invest in sustainable infrastructure.
The real question is whether we can afford not to.
Combining innovative financing, renewable energy investments, modern transport networks, digital transformation and strong regional partnerships, the CI region can transform sustainable infrastructure into a powerful accelerator of economic growth, social inclusion, and climate resilience.
Bosnia and Herevina remains fully committed to working with the CI partners, the United Nations, and the international community to advance this shared agenda.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Ambassador, I would like to elaborate a bit more on these two contributions, but unfortunately we are running out of time, so I need to move to the second part with some practical examples of initiatives that have been financed by the CI.
We have as distinguished speakers, Vladimair Kobavic, Manager for traffic Affairs Serbian railways infrastructure and Wukas Desk, Director of the Marshal's Cabinet at the Marshal's Office of the Warmisko oodeship.
We had a discussion about the pronunciation beforehand.
It doesn't look like in Poland.
So please, Mr.
Kirkoab, I give you the floor.
Unfortunately, we are really running out of time.
Thanks, Mr.
Catania, I tried to cut my speech.
Excellency dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm talking about how modern and sustainable railway system can bring economic growth, protect the environment, and connect our region.
Global trade routes are changing and new corridors bring huge economic opportunities to the Western Balkans.
However, we don't need to wait for the future.
We already have major transit routes actively functioning throughout region, connecting strategic maritime ports and the European and regional intermodal hubs.
Microphone is off again.
Sorry.
Serbia sits as a natural crossroads of these existing flows.
We don't have direct access to the sea, but we are transforming this from weakness into a major advantage.
Serbia offer the shortest and the fastest line route connecting Central Europe with sou Eastern Europe and Asia.
This connectivity is necessity for us because Serbia share borders with the eight countries.
Fun fact, in Europe only Germany has more neighbors than in Serbia.
Today's survey is fully focused on progress.
Our government is investing to completely rebuild and modernize our railway system.
We are transforming all tracks into modern electrified and digitalized.
This is a truly international effort.
Leading engineering companies from all over the world are working on our network, bringing the best global expertise to our tracks.
Great example of our success is the newly completed Belgrade No S is a high speed railway line up to the Hungarian border.
Furthermore, we are actively preparing the modernization of the Belgrade rail line.
This project is a crucial part of the Pan European Corridor ten, and we are developing it with a strong support of the Central European Initiative.
In parallel, we are developing plans for the railroad reconstruction to the Croatian border, a project set to revitalize this vital corridor and significantly strength both passenger and cargo routes to the Test and the Adriatic Sea.
Main challenge is to harmonize the work on these projects and completely them successfully without disrupting current traffic flow.
To ensure safety and quality, we strictly follow European standards.
We are implementing the European rail traffic management system and we work on project in accordance with the European Union regulations.
We are also working on strengthening international passenger lines.
To support this, we are investing in our passenger fleet buying modern high speed passenger trains.
This integration is not only important for Serbia, it is critical for the European Union as well.
Every unpredictable delays on Serbian trucks is a bottleneck for the European business.
My experience managing a private rail operator alongside leaders like Metrons and Kupk proved that our administrative and physical borders delay damage EU supply chains.
This is exactly why our partnerships with the Central European initiative is so important.
The CEI acts as a bridge.
It brings EU and non EU countries to the same table.
Through the initiative like the Knowledge Exchange Program, we can work together to simplify custom processes, then transport rules and the fixed border delays.
Brief conclusion.
Serbia already has very strong foundation for progress.
We have proved our commitment to the continuous transformation of Serbian railways.
However, to complete this vision, we need stronger support for the European Union.
By reducing travel trends, protecting the environment, lowering carbon emissions, and securing international trade, we are moving closer to the European family.
In short, we have achieved a lot, but much more remains to be done.
We must move forward with the transparent and reliable support from our partners.
Thank you, Mr.
Koury.
Thank you for your attention.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yes.
You have been really, thank you, incredible.
Mr.
Belsky, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
I guess my colleague from C has just become a record holder.
Yeah.
It's going to be difficult to beat.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very, very grateful to be part of today's discussion on how regional cooperation can drive sustainable development and make our communities stronger.
I am working for the Babyskozoski region in Poland.
We have 16 voivodship regions in Poland.
Boysky Masulsi is located in the north along the border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad.
So as a border region, international cooperation is something obvious, something natural to us, and no wonder we got in touch with the Central European Initiative time ago.
In our region, we believe that global goals can only be achieved if we take concrete action at the local level.
We also think true infrastructure is not just about roads, bridges, or ways.
It's also about human infrastructure, our safety, our institutions, and our shared trust.
To show you how this works in practice, I want to share two successful projects that we developed together.
With our international partners from Ukraine and Romania, with the vital support of the Central European Initiative.
Our first example focuses directly on public safety and crisis management.
In 2023, we implemented a project titled Training Ukrainian Firefighters saving Ukrainian lives.
Together with our long term partner, the Rvnat region from Western Ukraine and our local state and volunteer fire brigades, organized intensive hands on training for Ukraine volunteer firefighters.
We focus on practical skills, including search and rescue operations, clearing debris after shelling and road accident rescues.
We also provided them with essential safety equipment.
But the most important result came after the project.
The participants took the new knowledge back home and use it to help set up new volunteer fire brigades in Ukraine.
This shows how investing in human skills creates lasting security infrastructure that continues to protect communities long after the official project ends.
Building on this strong relationship, we launched our second initiative, which is currently in Van and it is titled Building resilient local and regional authorities.
And for this project, we expanded our partnership to include both the region regions for Bukraine but also our partners from Dolch country in Romania.
What was our motivation for this project? Today, frontline border regions face a new invisible threat.
It's disinformation and malicious interference.
This threat tries to destroy public trust and weaken our local institutions.
Through study visits, workshops, and joint recommendations, our three regions are working together to shield local democracy.
We are training local officials to recognize, counter and react to false information.
This project contributes directly to sustainable development goal number 16, which aims to build peaceful, inclusive societies and strong, accountable institutions at all levels.
By protecting at the local level, we protect the stability of our entire region.
What would be three observations, my three observations, taking those two projects into account.
Firstly, in my opinion, as far as local and regional actors are concerned, nowadays, the international cooperation is more important than ever before.
We face similar challenges, and it is time to join up, joint forces, exchange know how experience, and try to tackle those challenges together.
Secondly, as usual, financial and technical support matters.
There is a cooperation fund run by the Central European Initiative, and that's great.
But local and regional authorities need more tools like this.
So we need policies, programs, funds at national, at the European Union, at the UN level as well, because if we want local, regional authorities to be part of certain change, we simply must offer them some tools.
And then the first observation, if we want our communities, our societies to be resilient, we must build a strong link between regional and local governments, local professional services, non governmental organizations, and the citizens themselves.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me finish my short presentation with the following message.
The problems we face today do not stop at national borders.
Whether it is a physical emergency or a hybrid threat, local and regional authorities are always on the front line.
By working together across borders from Poland to Ukraine to Romania, we can turn global goals into local realities.
That's why we should continue to invest in partnerships that make our communities safer, smarter and more resilient.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Thank you for the.
You indeed.
Thank you, indeed.
I think that we can wrap it up.
Unfortunately, we don't have time for Quin day I wanted before to address some points that have been raised.
It was said by Mr.
Bbelli that sustainable development is an attitude, and I think that the CEI spirit mirrors that attitude even nowadays.
That's why this cooperation between the CI and the UN is natural comes so natural.
The framework of a precise stated objective, a political one, which is the enlargement of the European Union, as Ambassador Mapodi pointed out, which is an ambitious goal, but we hope increasingly feasible and reachable.
We discussed infrastructure, but not merely as an economic tool, but as a tool for resilience and Ambassador Ilich underlined how resilience matters as far as the infrastructure are concerned, and this is even a showcase by Ukraine in which rebuilding is an effect of an ongoing political cooperation, not the other way around.
Policy and capacity.
I think our organizations, the CIA and the UN are bridging policy and capacity very effectively, and the existing cooperation between the CIA and the UN is exactly about bridging a political planning and capacities.
Our panel, I think, displayed how the CI is instrumental for the sake of national objectives as well as for civil society's goals and ambitions.
I think that this is the spirit that will drive both organization forward.
Thank you for your attention and see you soon.
I hope that you are going to enjoy your day in New York.