Former U.S. Ambassador Adrian Zuckerman calls on Romania to turn its expertise in IT and cybersecurity into an economic and strategic advantage

Romania can transform its expertise in IT, research, and cybersecurity into an economic and strategic advantage, said former U.S. ambassador to Bucharest Adrian Zuckerman at the Trusted Tech Dialogues 2026 conference.

Zuckerman advocated deepening the Romanian-American partnership beyond military cooperation through projects in artificial intelligence, secure communications, critical infrastructure, and innovation. He warned that dependence on technology could become a national security vulnerability for Romania, a NATO country located near Ukraine and the Black Sea.

The former diplomat urged Romania not to remain merely a technology consumer, but to become a regional hub capable of creating, securing, and exporting solutions for the United States, NATO, and the European Union. Achieving this objective requires closer ties between universities and industry, investment in research, access to capital, and predictable rules.

The speech also addressed disinformation. According to Zuckerman, hostile actors sometimes seek not to impose a particular lie, but to destroy public trust in the existence of truth and in the functioning of democracy. He stressed that protecting democracy must preserve freedom of expression and reaffirmed the importance of supporting Ukraine.