– Partnerships between Polish and Ukraine local governments have been built for many years. I come from Kielce and remember from my childhood that our partner cities have always been a vineyard; Even one of the few restaurants in the old days was called Winnica and served Ukrainian cuisine. So the potential of cooperation has always been, but he was based for many years mainly on cultivating interpersonal relationships. Today, we can use it in many strategic and future fields -says Karol Tofil, who took part in the 17th edition of the Baltic Business Forum organized by the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce.
Poland – Ukraine: Potential of local government partnerships
He points out that the Ukrainians decided to follow the path of Poland – integration with NATO and the European Union, and this opens the field for cooperation in the field of knowledge and experience and the implementation of joint projects. The cooperation of local governments has a key role to play here – everyone agrees that the miracle of Polish system and economic transformation admired in the world has happened to a large extent due to the flourishing of self -government.
– Ukrainians would like to benefit from the vast knowledge and rich experiences of Polish local government officials, and our local government officials are ready to share this and divide this experience, but so far there was a lack of funds and tools on both sides, so that local government partnerships could go to the phase of a specific implementation, i.e. financing specific projects or investments. We intend to support local governments in removing these barriers – declares Karol Tofil.
He explains that it is not only about the exchange of experiences, but also to teach Ukrainian local government officials how to manage investments in European standards, how to obtain investment financing, how to do it in a balanced manner, how to then manage the assets that arose as a result of these investments. – We leave this assumption in our support program of Polish-Ukrainian local government partnerships- says Zbigniew Bartusa, director Tofil.
Polish self -governments guides for Ukrainian municipalities in Europe
He argues that Polish local governments have a significant role to play in the Ukrainian system’s system and economic transformation. Cooperation with partner self -governments is the key to success.
– Polish self -governments, Polish companies and Polish institutions today also play the role of a guide of Ukrainian partners around Europe and European partners around Ukraine. They are often an intermediary facilitating and animating mutual contacts, as well as a translator and spokesman for the Ukrainian case in the EU and outside the EU. If someone in Sweden or Denmark wants to understand Ukraine, then he often succeeds thanks to the support and efforts of someone from Poland. Also in Germany and France, Poland is often perceived as a natural and important guide to New Europe. As a development bank, we want to Animate this type of movements, because they bring specific benefits to both Polish local governments and Polish business, and at the same time are crucial for the civilization of Ukraine – emphasizes the representative of BGK.
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