On 16 October, a consultative workshop entitled “A solid foundation for Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction and modernisation” was held, organised by the European Commission through the TAIEX instrument in partnership with EU Member States, with the participation of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. Oleksii Sobolev, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, gave a welcoming address and presented the developments of the Ukraine Plan under the EU’s Ukraine Facility programme in the context of regional development.

The event was dedicated to the exchange of experiences between EU practitioners and the Ukrainian Government, as well as representatives of civil society, social partners and local authorities. It aimed to promote greater involvement of representatives of Ukrainian society in the preparation of the Ukraine Plan.

Five panel discussions focused on the experience of reform in European countries, the development of state-society partnerships, the development of investment programmes, the implementation of sound financial management and monitoring systems, and the development of the Ukraine Plan.

Speakers included representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the European Union and governments of EU Member States. In addition, more than 290 registered participants attended the event.

Oleksii Sobolev shared details of the work on the document during the seminar entitled “Draft Ukraine Plan: presentation of reforms and key sectors for the restoration and revival of Ukraine’s regions and territorial communities”.

“In the Ukraine Plan, we pay special attention to regional development, because it is in the regions that reconstruction will take place first and foremost. Therefore, we need to ensure that local communities have the capacity to develop and plan projects, provide the necessary resources and digital tools for management. Involving representatives of local authorities and territorial communities in the development of the Plan will allow us to take into account existing needs and jointly develop an effective system of interaction,” said Oleksii Sobolev.

He also thanked the representatives of the EU and its member states for organising the event, adding that taking into account their experience in developing the Plan will make interaction with the EU more effective and contribute to Ukraine’s European integration.

The Government of Ukraine plans to continue consultations with representatives of the regions in order to involve them in the process and collect concrete proposals for the Ukraine Plan.