The Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the Business Ombudsman Council signed a memorandum of cooperation. Under the memorandum, the institutions will cooperate to engage businesses in the reconstruction process. The Business Ombudsman Council’s task is to facilitate an open and frank dialogue between the business community and the state.

“For more than 9 years of its operation, the Business Ombudsman Council has established itself as an effective institution for building an open and constructive dialogue between the state and the business community. The Ministry’s team creates conditions for engaging businesses in rebuilding Ukraine, so we are joining our efforts with the Council’s team to ensure open and constructive cooperation,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure.

The Memorandum provides for:

• Implementation of joint initiatives and activities at the international, national and local levels;
• Organising research on the social, economic and digital development of regions and territories affected by russia’s armed aggression;
• Developing recommendations for improving the legislation and regulatory framework in the field of recovery;
• Engaging local authorities and executive authorities in cooperation, ensuring early consideration of such business proposals that fall within the competence of the Ministry;
• Consultations and exchange of experience on the development of strategic documents for the development of communities and regions, infrastructure reconstruction, etc.

Earlier this year, the Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Business Ombudsman Council. The Council is already working with many relevant ministries and government agencies, including the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the National Police, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention and others.

The Business Ombudsman Council is financed from the Ukraine Stabilisation and Sustainable Growth Multi-Donor Account (MDA) managed by the EBRD. Contributors to the MDA are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, which is the largest donor.