Proceedings of the International scientific and practical conference ―Cambridge Science and Education Conference‖ (July 2-4, 2026) / Publisher website: www.naukainfo.com. - Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2026. - 81 p.

5 ECONOMIC THEORY, MACRO- AND REGIONAL ECONOMY UDC 338.2 Iryna Volodymyrivna Motsna student of the Khmelnytskyi Private Lyceum ‗My Horizons‘ Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine UKRAINE’S ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL INSTABILITY Ukraine‘s economic diplomacy has taken on critical importance in the context of the full-scale war, as it is precisely this diplomacy that ensures support for external economic stability, access to international markets, the attraction of financial resources and the strengthening of strategic partnerships. The war has prompted the government to make more active use of economic diplomacy tools – such as forming coalitions of support, expanding free trade agreements, and communicating with global donors and investors. It is the economic diplomacy that has become the instrument for the survival and adaptation of the Ukrainian economy to the new reality. To assess the impact of economic diplomacy on the country‘s development, it is useful to analyse key macroeconomic indicators – exports and imports (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. Dynamics of Ukraine’s exports and imports over 10 years, in million US dollars *Compiled by the author based on source [2] As can be seen, between 2016 and 2021, Ukraine‘s exports grew by 78%, whilst imports rose by 64%. With the outbreak of the war, these figures declined, with exports falling by 29% (compared to the 2021 figure) and imports by just 2.5%. In 2022–2025, we can see a stabilisation of Ukraine‘s foreign trade. Thanks to economic diplomacy (the opening of alternative logistics routes, expanded cooperation with the EU and support for trade corridors), exports began to recover, reducing the decline to 33% of pre-war levels, whilst imports rose by 7%, meeting the critical needs of the Ukrainian economy. The stabilisation of Ukraine‘s foreign trade was made possible not only by wartime diplomatic measures, but also because Ukraine‘s economic diplomacy already had a solid foundation: established cooperation mechanisms, the trust of partners and an institutional presence within the global community. The country‘s long-standing participation in international economic organisations and free trade agreements ensured the rapid mobilisation of partner support and the preservation of access to key markets. Economic diplomacy played a similar role in attracting foreign direct investment and financial assistance from international partners, which made it possible to offset losses, stabilise the budget and support the recovery of economic activity (Table 1). 0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 E xports I