Repositioning Ukraine from being the recipient of Australian and New Zealand aid to being a fully engaged partner and resource for the Oceania-Pacific is the ambitious aim of an upcoming, unprecedented international relations conference, according to its lead organizer.
Kate Turska, the convenor of the inaugural ANZ Ukraine 2026 Forum to be held in Lviv between March 1 and 3, spoke exclusively with Kyiv Post about the drivers and purpose of the event.
“It’s time to redefine the relationship between Australia, New Zealand and Ukraine. To date, it’s been one of two democratic allies supporting their mate during wartime, but it should be much more than that,” Turska, who is a senior executive with Spark, New Zealand’s leading telecoms and digital services company, said.
“Aussie and Kiwi stakeholders should recognize that Ukraine, due to its circumstances, is currently the world leader in many areas of innovation. Ukraine has a great deal to offer and to teach smart partners. It’s not just a question of doing business with Ukraine – it’s a question of engaging with Ukraine to stay globally competitive,” Turska, who was recently awarded the highly prestigious New Zealand Order of Merit, said.
The demands of national self-defense have transformed many sectors of Ukraine’s economy, according to Turska, and that creates significant opportunity for Australian and New Zealand interests that want a short cut to the cutting edge.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Turska wrote that “if you are operating in sectors that intersect with defense, dual-use tech, cyber, critical infrastructure, emergency services, advanced manufacturing, data, or systems integration, you need to be in Ukraine now. Being there now matters because this is where: systems are being built, broken, fixed, and rebuilt in real time; technologies are being tested under real-world pressure; and policy, procurement, and operating models are evolving the fastest.”
Ukraine’s defense economy creates significant opportunity for Australian and New Zealand interests that want a short cut to the cutting edge.
“In this context, Australia and New Zealand players should claim a first-mover advantage, as their counterparts in Europe and North America will be aiming to do. It’s not even a question of doing business with Ukraine. It’s a question of partnering with Ukraine in order to stay globally competitive,” Turska told Kyiv Post.
The conference, which has received some 150 expressions of interest thus far, is organized into several streams, including Military & Defense Resilience, Innovation & Business, Emergency & Crisis Response, and Humanitarian & Philanthropy, and will feature an array of topline speakers who will soon be announced.
However, Turska emphasized that presentations and awareness-building are only one part of the conference’s design.
“This Forum is about: understanding how the Ukrainian ecosystem actually works; building relationships before you need them; learning from Ukraine, not just talking about Ukraine; and positioning to engage when the moment is right – for you and your organization,” Turska said.
“With the goal of genuine opportunities, the agenda and format of the ANZ Ukraine 2026 Forum are designed accordingly, including an innovative ‘speed dating’ session for delegates,” Turska said. “Additionally, there will be follow-up work for there to be a legacy from the conference.”
Turska, who was born and raised in Slovyansk, near the front lines of the Donbas region, is a founder and director of New Zealand-based Mahi for Ukraine, which raises awareness and advocates for Ukrainian interests to Kiwi stakeholders. The organization has successfully lobbied for the establishment of New Zealand’s anti-Russian sanctions regime and the creation of visa categories for Ukrainians fleeing the full-scale invasion. In early 2022, she helped evacuate her parents and to facilitate their journey to safety in New Zealand, which has a Ukrainian diaspora of approximately 2,000 individuals.