On 26 September 2024, Viktorija Baire, Chairperson of the Ķekava Municipality Council, and Dmytro Fedorov, Mayor of Novyi Bilous Village, signed the Memorandum of Cooperation, launched with the assistance of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, and the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments.

Anatolii Kutsevol, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Latvia, and

 Leonid Hrebennyk, First Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine of the Republic of Latvia.

Participated in the ceremony of signing the Memorandum, as well.

"I have the honour to thank my Latvian colleagues for their support, significant assistance and reliable partnership. The area of the Novyi Bilous municipality has become a shield for Chernihiv. While the month of occupation and during the period of active combat actions, many infrastructure facilities in the municipality were destroyed and people suffered. But we are working to revive life. The top priority is to restore infrastructure, first of all, educational institutions; arrange reliable multifunctional bomb shelters, and create proper conditions for children's education. At the same time, our municipality possesses a unique experience in organising civil protection measures, establishing steadfastness points, and creating a reserve of residential premises to accommodate internally displaced persons. We are open to dialogue and further mutual productive cooperation for the quality development of our municipalities. We are grateful to the Association of Ukrainian Cities for its assistance in establishing the partnership and hope that international cooperation will only expand in the future," said Dmytro Fedorov.

"Ukraine must win this war and become a member of the EU. That is why we are ready to share our experience and support Ukraine in its fight against the invaders. We have significant achievements in infrastructure development; building small and medium-sized businesses; refining education, culture, sports, tourism; implementing global sustainable goals in municipality management, and experience in building capable municipalities. Together we will be able to overcome many challenges," underlined Viktorija Baire, signing the historic document.

She also noted that the unity between Ukraine and Latvia is strong, and the solidarity is unwavering and stable.

The visit included a number of meetings between the Ukrainian delegation and local authorities; a roundtable discussion at the Department of Education, Culture and Sports of the Ķekava Council was conducted; the “Ukrainian Book Shelf” was opened in the local library; a meeting with Ukrainians living in Ķekava municipality, and tour to local enterprises were run.

In addition, the parties made presentations of their municipalities, exchanged views on joint projects, their elaboration and further implementing.

The Memorandum signed in Latvia is intended to consolidate strategic cooperation between the municipalities based on European values through the implementation of joint projects and development programmes in various areas, including education, economy, and local self-government enhancing.

The partnership between the two municipalities is systemic:

On 31 March 2023, a bilateral online meeting was held between representatives of Novyi Bilous village municipality and the municipality Ķekava to launch bilateral cooperation;

On 8-12 May 2023, a delegation of three Ukrainian municipalities, including Novyi Bilous village municipality, visited Latvian partner municipalities for a study visit;

On 31 May 2024, a regular bilateral online meeting was held between representatives of Novyi Bilous village municipality (Chernihiv region) and the municipality of Ķekava (Latvia), during which the parties discussed the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Cooperation.

The Partnership was initiated by the Association of Ukrainian Cities, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), and the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments (LALRG) with the support of the “U-LEAD with Europe” Programme.

For the Ukrainian version of the article, please visit link.