Zakarpattia Regional Council is one of the associated partners of the Network of the Three Seas Regions.
Zakarpattia is one of the youngest regions of Ukraine, endowed with a unique geographical location and natural-climatic conditions. It borders Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Here, the borders of four European countries converge, as well as the history of European and Eastern European civilizations.
The region is home to representatives of more than 100 nationalities and ethnic groups, who live together harmoniously, valuing and developing the unique cultures, religions, traditions, customs, and rituals. The population has broad access to state, private, commercial, party, and foreign sources of mass information. Foreign economic relations and the democratization of society contribute to the region’s deeper integration into the international community.
The region has high natural and recreational potential. The combination of mountainous and flat landscapes, the unique beauty of the mountain deciduous and coniferous forests, which cover half of the territory, clean spring streams and fast-flowing rivers, numerous healing mineral springs, and a moderately continental climate create ideal conditions for the development of the health resort and tourism sectors.
The region’s unique location and the development of market economy principles have fostered a favourable climate for business and entrepreneurship, positively influencing social processes. Enterprises maintain foreign economic relations with partners in over a hundred countries worldwide. The region successfully hosts businesses established with investments from well-known global companies. There is a wide network of banks and their branches, a chamber of commerce, and other market infrastructure institutions. The expansion of the network of educational institutions with different levels of accreditation, introducing training in the basics and practices of entrepreneurship, supports the resolution of staffing issues.
Key sectors in the region’s economy include timber harvesting and processing, food and beverage production, mechanical engineering, health resort services and tourism, and agricultural production.
Current tasks and development prospects involve addressing the use of the region’s labour resources to reduce unemployment, creating conditions for sustainable economic growth, supporting and developing priority economic sectors, small businesses, rational use of natural resources, and producing competitive finished products based on this.
The action program of local executive authorities and local governments in the economic sphere aims to actively promote the development of entrepreneurship, attract foreign and domestic investments, implement housing construction programs, develop communications, gasification, and restore and preserve the region’s historical and cultural monuments. This underscores the need for active deepening of economic and cultural cooperation with partners in European and other countries worldwide.