34 Nordic Municipalities Participate in the Nordic–Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Forum
It is now two weeks since the first Nordic-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Forum took place in Lviv, Ukraine — a new format for partnerships under the Polaris Programme, co-organized by SALAR International and the Cities4Cities initiative. The forum brought together representatives of over 60 municipalities from Ukraine, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
34 Nordic municipalities from Norway, Finland, and Sweden travelled to Ukraine to meet their partners and plan the next steps of cooperation together. The Forum was opened by Oleksii Riabykin, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine:
“Partnership between Ukraine and the Nordic countries is largely grounded in recognising local self-government as one of the pillars of a resilient state. In this dialogue, hromadas possess unique expertise in adaptability and, with the support of partners, are ready to share solutions tested in practice – from governance under uncertainty to the ability to act effectively with limited resources during wartime.”
New partnerhips were formed
Mayors and heads of hromadas, representatives of local self-government, associations, experts, and politicians discussed municipal partnerships as a driver of EU integration, explored approaches and facilitation of cooperation development, and jointly presented experiences while sharing lessons learned from project implementation.
Four new memoranda of cooperation were signed during the forum:
- Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi (Cherkasy Oblast) – Sunne (Sweden). The partnership focuses on crisis preparedness, waste management, and the development of solar energy. In addition, the partners are strengthening cooperation in culture and education.
- Novovorontsovka (Kherson Oblast) – Tjörn (Sweden). The partnership prioritises support for children and youth, exchange of experience in municipal governance, and the implementation of joint initiatives aimed at hromada recovery.
- Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) – Lier (Norway). The partners will collaborate across key areas including the economy, education, culture, sport, tourism, local self-government, the social sphere, and environmental protection.
- Yampil (Vinnytsia Oblast) – Vänersborg (Sweden). The partnership is focused on developing youth policy, rehabilitation services, and strengthening civil and food security. The partners also participate in the grant support for Swedish–Ukrainian partnerships from Polaris, through which the Yampil hromada hospital has received modern rehabilitation equipment.