International partnership between communities is no longer about ‘someday after victory’, but about here and now. The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine has approved five draft agreements and treaties on international territorial cooperation between Ukrainian communities and partners from Romania, Poland, Germany, and Italy.

The order was adopted on the basis of the Law of Ukraine ‘On International Territorial Cooperation of Ukraine’, the Procedure for Approving Draft Agreements and Appeals of Local Governments and Military Administrations, and taking into account the positions of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The Ministry for Development has approved the following draft agreements:

• Solotvyno Settlement Council (Zakarpattia region) — agreement with the municipality of Mireșu Mare, Maramureș County (Romania);
• Brody Urban Council (Lviv region) — agreement with the gmina Mokobody, in Siedlce County, Masovian Voivodeship (Poland);
• Podilsk Urban Council (Odesa region) — agreement with the municipality of the city of Borken (Germany);
• Rivne Regional State/Military Administration — cooperation agreement with the municipality of Trapani province (Italy);
• Званівська сільська рада (Donetsk region) — agreement with the community of Kahl am Main (Germany).

The order was published on the website of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. Deputy Minister Oleksii Riabykin is responsible for monitoring its implementation.

The Decentralisation portal has a separate page, Partnership for Recovery and Development, dedicated to international inter-municipal cooperation. It contains information about agreements and twinning relationships between Ukrainian communities and foreign partners, as well as examples of international territorial cooperation.