Mykolaiv region will soon have sister region in south of France

This was reported to Ukrinform by Anton Tabunschyk, chairman of the Mykolaiv Regional Council.

“We have reached preliminary agreements on cooperation with the leaders of Occitania. At the same time, we have a strategy that is also supported by Vitaliy Kim [head of the regional state administration], which states that the French region itself should be willing to work with Mykolaiv region,” said Mr. Tabunschyk.

In his opinion, the prospects for such cooperation can be mutually beneficial, and the launch of large projects should be delayed a bit because of the war, but preparations should begin now.

“In Mykolaiv region, we have 4 ports that, of course, cannot work now. But we have repeatedly emphasized that we would be interested in cooperating with a region that has access to the sea. Occitania has two ports owned by municipalities. And we can outline future cooperation around this topic,” he said.

The day before, each member of the Ukrainian delegation at the French congress had the opportunity to present their region to potential partners.

“Mykolaiv region prepared a large presentation with 20 slides, in which we fully described our geographical advantages, strong agricultural component, and investment attractiveness,” says Tabunschyk.

According to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, the French are also interested in wind and solar power generation, as this is something they are working on in their region. Mykolaiv region will gladly join these projects.

He also noted the great attention paid to the Ukrainian delegation at the Congress in Strasbourg. For two days, representatives of 13 regions and districts talked to elected officials from different regions of France and told them how Ukrainian regional and district councils work during the war, what decisions they make, how they help the frontline, and how they deal with the problems of internally displaced persons.

“Such direct meetings of regional leaders are essential, as they are the starting point for productive dialogues and cooperation,” emphasized Tabunschyk.

The Congress also agreed to launch possible cooperation between Kherson and Normandy and between Cherkasy and the Loire Valley Center region.

Previously, four regions of Ukraine had similar agreements - Kharkiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, and Kyiv.

By the end of the year, the leadership of all Ukrainian regions should sign partnership agreements with the regions of France, and representatives of district authorities should find partners at the level of French departments. This is the ambitious goal set by the organizers of the Congress of the Regions of France.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils (UAROR) and the Association of the Regions of France signed a Partnership Convention that will strengthen cooperation at the local level.

The ceremony took place at a meeting of the Congress of the French Regions entitled “Supporting the Regions, Supporting Ukraine” in Strasbourg.