A new page in the development of the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region and the region as a whole

Today, a long-awaited event took place for the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region – the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Swiss-Ukrainian Project “Ukraine Cohesion and Regional Development” (UCORD), the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region, the Odesa Oblast State Administration and the Odesa Oblast Council of the VIII convocation. The purpose of the Memorandum is to establish close cooperation and consolidate efforts aimed at restoring and developing the Odesa region.

The document envisages strengthening the Agency’s institutional capacity and improving its organizational structure in line with EU standards. This will help to intensify the Agency’s role in the restoration of communities and the region and in planning local and regional development projects. In addition, the Agency will act as a facilitator of dialogue between citizens, businesses, and government agencies, particularly in such important areas as water supply, wastewater, waste management, culture, and creative industries.

As part of the support provided by the Memorandum of Understanding, the UCORD project will assess the Agency’s vision, purpose and role in regional development, governance mechanisms, core functions, priorities, organizational arrangements, staffing and financial needs. This will help identify all the necessary resources to ensure the Agency’s effectiveness.

The Memorandum also provides for support for projects in the areas of water supply, wastewater, waste management, culture, dialogue, and creative industries, which remain the key areas of activity of the UCORD project.

“In addition to the development of the Agency as an institution focused on Euro-Atlantic integration, our joint work with the UCORD project and relevant departments of the regional authorities is important, as we work for the communities and residents of the Odesa Oblast,” said Serhii Kononenko, Director of the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region.

Immediately after the signing of the Memorandum, a coordination meeting was held with the project team, which will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the Agency’s situation, its internal policies, institutional capacity, strengths and weaknesses, which will allow us to formulate a further cooperation plan for almost three years.

We thank our international partners for their trust and attention to Odesa region! We are moving towards victory together!