The leadership of the two Chambers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine gathered in Lviv to discuss the format of the upcoming international summit.

The event is to be held in Ukraine in April with the participation of heads of Ukrainian and foreign cities, municipalities and regions.

The participants will include Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv and Chairman of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine; Viktor Mykyta, Head of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration and Head of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress; deputy heads of chambers: Borys Filatov, Mayor of Dnipro, Serhii Sukhomlyn, Mayor of Zhytomyr, Viacheslav Chaus, Head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration. The meeting was also attended by Lilia Pashyna, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and member of the Presidium of the Congress; Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities and member of the Presidium of the Congress; Congress members such as Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Volodymyr Chubirko, Chairman of the Zakarpattia Regional Council, and Viacheslav Nehoda, Head of the Congress Office; as well as Oleksii Riabykin, Adviser to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv, emphasised the importance of the work done on the future development of municipalities within the framework of the Summit.

“We must extend our gratitude to the municipalities that helped Ukrainians the most. It is important that the President honour their leadership. New agreements on cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign municipalities are also essential. And here we should focus on those municipalities that are most in need today, that are under shelling. There should also be panel ‘brainstorming’ discussions about our tomorrow. Of course, each municipality has its own development strategy. However, they are obviously irrelevant today, since the war changed everything. And municipalities need to put in the work today so that when we de-occupy our territories, we don’t have to wait for instructions on what to do but start working hard from the very next day,” said Andriy Sadovyi.

According to Viktor Mykyta, Chairman of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress, the Zakarpattia and Lviv regions are leaders in the interaction and cooperation with sister cities and regions of the EU countries. This partnership helped survive the early days of full-scale war, host millions of internally displaced persons, support the military and the regions where hostilities took place, etc.

“That is why it is important to transfer this experience, help other cities and regions to establish their own ties, sign cooperation agreements and interact tangibly and effectively in all possible areas of development. Life has shown that this kind of communication both generates projects and saves lives,” said Viktor Mykyta.

The participants of the meeting discussed the participants and agenda of the Summit. First of all, the partners who have helped Ukrainians the most since the first days of the war will be invited. The event should become a platform for establishing and maintaining cooperation with partner cities and regions. It is also planned to discuss the development of post-war Ukraine, including the recovery and development of the municipalities that were most affected by the Russian aggression.

According to Viacheslav Nehoda, Head of the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the international Summit can spearhead the process of establishing a solidarity partnership between Ukrainian and foreign municipalities.

“Scaling the network of solidarity partnerships between Ukrainian and foreign municipalities and regions will create a basis for close long-term cooperation. This cooperation will benefit all the parties. At the same time, it is important that each of our municipalities has its own case of current needs and post-war strategic development plans. It is also essential that the projects proposed by our municipalities and regions are of interest to our foreign partners. As for the objectives of the Summit, one of the main ones is to consolidate the international community of local and regional authorities in their support of Ukraine. Another objective is to create a platform that will facilitate the establishment of new partnerships between local authorities. Perhaps this Summit will turn into an ongoing communication platform that puts in motion ideas on the development of partnerships between local and regional authorities of Ukraine and international institutions,” said Viacheslav Nehoda.