The project on “Improvement of competitiveness of Ukrainian regions and development of Ukrainian-Polish economic cooperation” will be launched shortly and will last till the end of 2020, reported Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services.

The relevant Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and the Ministry of Investments and Development of the Republic of Poland on 29 October 2018. Implementation of the agreement will begin after the project is registered with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

"This Project is another opportunity to increase the investment attractiveness of our regions and hromadas, encourage Ukrainian and Polish entrepreneurs to implement investment projects in Ukraine," noted Vyacheslav Nehoda.

For this purpose, according to the First Deputy Minister, during the project implementation, MinRegion and its Polish counterpart and will improve the system of strategic planning of regional development in Ukraine, ameliorate regional development stimulation mechanisms taking into account the EU experience.

In particular, the project envisages support of regional development agencies in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and the Kyiv Oblast, as well as dissemination of their experience among other regions.

The project will also provide assistance to local authorities – they will be supported in the preparation of regional and local development projects aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the regions and strengthening human potential.

"We strive to create an effective state regional policy in Ukraine. We want the Ukrainian regions and hromadas to be successful and capable, and, therefore, interesting for both domestic and foreign investment. And the experience of Poland, which has achieved remarkable success in this direction, is very valuable for us. Therefore, we must use the opportunities of this project as efficiently as possible,” said Vyacheslav Nehoda.