At the International Summit of Cities and Regions, representatives of the local self-government of Ukraine and about thirty other countries, as well as the highest officials of Ukraine, witnessed by high-ranking officials of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the Council of Europe, the European Committee of the Regions, declared their readiness to join efforts to help in building a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future, to contribute to the establishment of a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine to ensure international security and stability of the entire world.

Kyiv, 19-20 April 2023

We, representatives of local self-governments of the Republic of Austria, Republic of Albania, Kingdom of Belgium, Republic of Bulgaria, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Georgia, Kingdom of Denmark, Republic of Estonia, State of Israel, Republic of Ireland, Italian Republic, Canada, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Lithuania, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Federal Republic of Germany, Kingdom of Norway, Republic of Poland, Portuguese Republic, Romania, Slovak Republic, the United States of America, Republic of Türkiye, Ukraine, Republic of Hungary, French Republic, Republic of Croatia, Czech Republic, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Spain as well as senior officials of the state of Ukraine and in presence of High Representatives of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the European Union, the European Committee of the Regions,

reaffirming the undeniable importance of the Charter of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security and promoting the rule of law in relations between nations;

attesting to our unwavering support for the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within the framework of internationally recognised borders extending to its international waters;

recalling the obligation of all States, provided for in Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations, and to settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered;

condemning the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which has led to the catastrophic destruction of social, critical energy and industrial infrastructure, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, sports facilities, cultural heritage sites, residential buildings and neighbourhoods, the destruction of cities and villages of the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv oblasts, caused irreparable damage to the environment and the ecological situation in Ukraine and Europe as a whole, including the waters of the Black and Azov Seas, and caused enormous human losses;

Defining the inevitable role of Ukraine in the global food security system and energy stability of Europe;

reiterating adherence to the Council of Europe standards, treaties and conventions;

expressing serious concern about the enormous damage and suffering resulting from Russian aggression against Ukraine;

stressing that local self-government is one of the main foundations of democracy, the main values of which the entire Ukrainian people are fighting for today, and that the strength of self-government of Ukrainian communities is an important component of Ukraine’s heroic resistance against the Russian invaders;

highlighting the necessity of a bottom-up approach in reconstruction, building on the successful decentralisation reform;

expressing our full support for the municipalities and regions of Ukraine in the process of their restoration, reconstruction from the consequences of the war, their economic, social and cultural development;

We express our readiness:

to promote Ukraine’s leadership, effective cooperation and coordination with international partners and donors;

to support the initiative to provide coordinated political, financial, expert and technical assistance for the post-war reconstruction of Ukrainian municipalities and regions based on a bottom-up approach;

to agree on the guiding principles of peer-to-peer partnerships for local and regional reconstruction:

• to develop a joint vision of sustainable local and regional development based on the build-back-better principle, which will ensure the promotion of the creation of green, safe, energy-efficient, barrier-free, inclusive, prosperous, comfortable cities, towns and villages in the process of reconstruction, where equal rights will be ensured for all residents;
• to uphold the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law;
• to ensure transparency and good governance in the cooperation between partner municipalities;
• to promote the respect of the role of self-government in line with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, as well as to support building and strengthening the capacity of regions and cities, towns and villages, building on decentralisation and completing the process;
• to involve citizens, local small and medium-sized enterprises, civil society and any other stakeholders in the reconstruction process, take into account their aspirations for local development and ensure the principles of equality and people-centeredness, which are key to the post-war reconstruction of a democratic society;
• to support Ukrainian municipalities and regions on the path of reconstruction and recovery and prepare them for accession to the European Union;

to promote the mutual development of trade, production, investment, scientific, cultural and other types of cooperation, to develop cooperation in the following areas:

• creation and development of decentralised energy systems in municipalities;
• implementation of modern energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy in various sectors of the regional economy;
• innovative technologies of waste management;
• industry, trade, agro-industrial complex, infrastructure and transport;
• high technologies, including IT technologies, innovations;
• science, technology, education and health care;
• culture and arts;
• sports and tourism;
• development of local self-government;
• social integration and inclusivity;
• sustainable and integrated territorial development based on principles of regional cohesion;

to establish an exchange of information regarding the needs of the population as well as social, agricultural, cultural, industrial and other enterprises in humanitarian, technical and expert assistance;

to promote the deployment of a network of regional rehabilitation centres for war veterans, persons with disabilities, including persons with post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as children affected by war and those who will be returned from forced deportation;

to promote the introduction in Ukraine of the best practices of social rehabilitation and social involvement of persons who became disabled due to Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as children left without parental care;

to provide, where possible, assistance and partnership in access to financial resources, including but not limited to grant programmes, material and technical assistance projects, pre-accession funds etc.;

to continue establishing and strengthening inter-municipal and inter-regional contacts and direct partnerships and promote the exchange of best practices of local and regional self-government; to provide expert support to municipalities to strengthen their capacity;

to support the creation of a coordination platform in the form of International Coordination Offices in the regions, which will allow effective implementation of initiatives to help Ukrainian municipalities and regions;

to confirm that partnership, integrity, openness and transparency are important for the successful implementation of recovery and development plans;

to invite private foreign investors to establish cooperation with the Ukrainian side for the economic and social stabilisation of Ukraine and the further process of recovery from the consequences of the war;

to call on local and regional government leaders around the world to mobilise direct cooperation and partnership building with the Ukrainian side to strengthen their capacities to meet their needs.

We, the participants of the Summit, recognising the special importance of uniting around the values of democracy and freedom, declare our determination to join efforts to help in building a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future, to promote the establishment of a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine to ensure international security and stability of the entire world.