The Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities of Ukraine and the EU Initiative "Mayors for Economic Growth" signed the Memorandum of cooperation

21 February 2019

Kyiv, February 21, 2019 – In Kiev, within the General meeting of the Ukrainian Association of local self-government, the Memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities and the EU Initiative "Mayors for Economic Growth".
The General Meeting of the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities was attended by Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine; Hennadiy Zubko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, Construction and Housing of Ukraine; Serhiy Vlasenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government of Ukraine; and about 300 heads of amalgamated territorial communities, representatives of international technical assistance programs, and experts. The participants of the meeting approved the new composition of the Council, as well as held a panel discussion "Reform of local self-government and territorial structure of governance. New stage. Challenges and prospects". The M4EG Initiative was represented by Peter Korsby, Team leader, and Olexander Tsepko, Country Expert for Ukraine.
The Memorandum of cooperation between the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities and the M4EG Initiative is of great importance for the local economic development. The parties agreed to cooperate in the following areas:
- exchange of experience between local self-governments on local economic development;
- promotion of development of local self-government and its principles that underpin the European Charter of Local Self-Government; 
- study and adoption of international experience in local economic development.

To ensure the implementation of the Memorandum of cooperation, the parties intend to hold joint events, conferences, seminars, and round tables.

Peter Korsby, Team leader, "Mayors for Economic Growth": "I am very pleased to take part in the General meeting of the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, which is one of our key partners in Ukraine. Our project is dedicated to economic development at the local level, and such associations play an important role because they are the voice of all municipalities. Signing the Memorandum with the Association is of great importance for us in the context of achieving our goals, implementing the developed tools and pursuing our efforts in the future." 
Olexander Tsepko, Country Expert for Ukraine, "Mayors for Economic Growth": "Cooperation with the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities is extremely important for the M4EG Initiative. The Association represents the interests of 300 communities, and some of them have already become the signatories of the Initiative. We plan to actively participate in the implementation of joint activities, which will undoubtedly contribute to the local economic development of the amalgamated territorial communities."
Valentina Poltavets, Executive Director of the Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities: "The Memorandum of cooperation with the M4EG Initiative is important first of all because economic development is a priority for the amalgamated territorial communities. And this EU Initiative assists our communities in addressing these issues effectively."