Ukraine and Slovenia strengthen cooperation on regional development and community support

On the sidelines of the 51st session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Vitalii Bezghin, Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, met Monika Kirbiš Rojs, Slovenia’s Minister of Local Self-Government, Cohesion and Regional Development.

Slovenia’s experience of decentralisation and regional support is important for Ukraine. In particular, the recent relocation of the ministry’s headquarters from Ljubljana to Maribor demonstrates an approach in which regions and communities become direct participants in shaping public policy.

Ukrainian-Slovenian partnership has already produced concrete results:
28 twinned communities;
a family-type home in Medzhybizh;
a rehabilitation centre in Zhytomyr region and a psychological assistance centre in Kharkiv.

At the meeting, the parties identified the next steps in cooperation:

Housing policy - finding solutions to provide housing for IDPs and families who lost their homes because of the war.

Community partnerships - developing existing ties between Ukrainian and Slovenian communities and launching new joint initiatives.

Digital resilience - using Slovenia’s experience managing EU funds to improve Ukrainian digital systems, including DREAM, the regional development GIS and the urban planning cadastre, in line with European standards.

Vitalii Bezghin thanked Slovenia for supporting Ukraine and its partnership on the path to the European Union, noting that the country’s experience is an important example of successful European integration.