The Draft Partnership Agreement with the German city of Krefeld was approved by the Kropyvnytskyi City Council at its meeting on 4 May 2023. The Parties will sign the document shorty.

This is reported by the official website of the Kropyvnytskyi City Council.

“With Ukraine receiving the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union on 23 June 2022, the experience of the functioning of local self-government in EU member states is very useful for Ukrainian municipalities. Partnerships can develop economic, academic, social and cultural ties, tourism and other areas of municipal life. In addition, in today’s situations, partner cities can provide humanitarian aid to support internally displaced persons as well as financial resources for post-war municipal reconstruction,” Oleh Koliuka, Secretary of the City Council, said at the council meeting.

It is reported that with the assistance of the project “Municipal Partnerships with Ukraine” implemented on the direct mandate of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany in order to support friendly and partnership relations between the municipalities of Germany and Ukraine, on 22 March 2023, the senior officials of city councils held an online meeting with their Krefeld counterparts and agreed on the establishment of partnership relations between the municipalities.

“Within their powers and capabilities, both municipalities will make efforts to develop mutual relations in the humanitarian and cultural areas, academia, economy, tourism and sports,” reads the Draft Agreement.

The Parties tentatively plan to conduct an exchange of delegations representing the municipalities, organisations and public associations; student exchanges; cultural exchange (exhibitions, dance performances, theatre, music, etc.); tourist events, sports competitions; cooperation between libraries and museums; cooperation in the field of economic and infrastructure development and other activities.

On April 19-20, the International Summit of Cities and Regions was held in Ukraine, organised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine. Among its tasks was the consolidation of the international community of local and regional authorities in support of Ukraine. At the Summit alone, 11 different agreements were signed on international inter-municipal and inter-regional cooperation. Moreover, 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.