The first national M4EG workshop for Belarusian stakeholders was held in the Mahilioŭ Technopark.
08 September 2017The workshop was conducted in cooperation with the Mahilioŭ Oblast Executive Committee and the Mahilioŭ Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, becoming the first official Mayors for Economic Growth presentation to the stakeholders in Belarus.
Mr. Ruslan Strahar, Chairmen of Economics Committee of the Mahilioŭ Oblast Executive Committee, Mr. Peter Korsby, the Project Secretariat Team Leader and Mr. Viktar Krasouski, Executive Director of the Mahilioŭ Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs greeted the participants of the event, stressing the importance of promoting local economic growth and the role of the local administrations in order to achieve success. The participants discussed the benefits and opportunities opening up to the aspiring local authorities from participating in the Mayors for Economic Growth Initiative as official signatories, and the respective commitments on their part. A short overview of the first cooperation results was made, namely:
- 15 local administrations in Belarus have joined the Mayors for Economic Growth Initiative as of September 2017;
- 12 applications were submitted to the European Commission Call for Proposals “Mayors for Economic Growth Pioneer Projects” by Belarusian local administrations;
- 5 applications out of 12 were pre-selected for the second competitive phase. The results will be announced in mid-October.
The overview was followed by the discussion of further necessary steps and the parties’ responsibilities, as well as future project activities for Belarus.
Mr. Peter Korsby, the Project Secretariat Team Leader, observed:
”We are very glad to see profound interest towards the Mayors for Economic Growth Initiative on the part of Belarusian local authorities. We see a lot of potential for the local administrations in Belarus to improve local business environment and create inclusive economic development partnerships to promote growth and employment in their locality with the EU support. Now, with the Council of Ministers approval of the Mayors for Economic Growth Initiative as one having high relevance for Belarus, we are happy that we can engage Belarusian stakeholders to the full extent. We are positive that it will greatly benefit the country itself, and the Eastern Partnership region as a whole”.
The workshop “M4EG - new initiative of EC to support local development” gathered together 50 participants of regional and local authorities, deputies, international and civil society organizations, representatives of business, science and education institutions.
More pictures from the workshop are available here.