German-Ukrainian conference on municipal partnerships opens in Berlin

Ukraine’s Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Vitalii Bezghin joined the opening online.

In recent years, the number of German-Ukrainian municipal partnerships has more than tripled to 300. They have become a practical tool for supporting communities: helping people and exchanging experience, from generators and shelters to recovery.

The Minister thanked the German partners for supporting Ukrainian communities, including Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, GIZ, Engagement Global, SKEW and municipalities.

“In peacetime, twinning often meant pleasant visits and souvenirs. Since 2022 it has meant very rapid partnership decisions: receiving people forced from their homes by Russia’s war, repairing what has been destroyed, generators and shelters. An important part is sharing invaluable experience that cannot be found in any manual,” said Vitalii Bezghin.

The Minister named housing for internally displaced people, civil protection and shelters, digitalisation, local economic development and recovery, strengthening communities’ project capacity and European integration at the local level as partnership priorities.

Vitalii Bezghin called for expanding the network of municipal partnerships, particularly in frontline and liberated communities that do not yet have such cooperation. Minregion is ready to help communities find partners together with the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) and the “Bridges of Trust” programme.