The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine drafts a new version of the Law "On Public Procurement", allowing participants to make it more efficient, and invites local self-government bodies (LSG) to cooperate.

Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Nadiia Bihun announced this during consultations on solving problematic issues in the field of public procurement with the participation of local self-governments.

Among the participants of the event were heads of villages, towns and city mayors, their respective deputies, heads of departments and offices of local self-government bodies, representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine.

"The procurement system is an evolutionary process, each procurement cycle requires improvement, systematic approach and involvement of municipalities in the process. The Law "On Public Procurement" defines the action mechanism, and all the rest depends on the expertise and professionalism of the procurement team," said Nadiia Bihun.

She stressed the need for local self-government bodies to properly inform the public about the procurement purpose, report on the results, and comply with international standards. In turn, local self-government representatives shared their own experience of using the public procurement system.

Oleksandr Slobozhan, Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, noted that cooperation in the public procurement system of the Association of Ukrainian Cities with the Ministry of Economy and with the support of the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine is systematic, it is important to share experience and best practices, and to maximise the range of local self-governments that can use public procurement to benefit their municipalities.

The event was organised by the Association of Ukrainian Cities jointly with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine and IPSM, and took place within the framework of the Promoting Comprehensive Development of Municipalities through Analytics, Dialogue and International Cooperation Project, implemented with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.