Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Oleksiy Kuleba met with UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown.
The participants discussed the inclusive recovery of communities and the development of cooperation of Ukraine, its regions and communities with the Organization in the coming year.
"Inclusive community recovery is essential to stimulate local economic development. This process requires concerted efforts by national and regional authorities, civil society, local small and medium-sized enterprises and international partners. The UN agencies are present in Ukraine, working in communities committed to recovery, and we will increase our efforts in 2024 in partnership with regional and local administrations," said Denise Brown.
She added that the UN agencies in Ukraine are now working in almost all regions and, in partnership with regional and local administrations, are helping to restore communities affected by Russian aggression. The presence of the UN system in Ukraine is currently the largest in its history: more than 3,000 employees, offices in many regional centers.
"We are in constant contact with communities on the ground and can see and understand all the needs of people," emphasized the coordinator.
Denise Brown added that the UN agencies help not only to meet humanitarian needs, but also to create strategies for regional recovery and development. Regional offices of international cooperation at the RMAs, regional authorities and communities are actively involved in this process. In particular, such work is already underway in Sumy and Mykolaiv regions.
For his part, Oleksiy Kuleba thanked Denise Brown for the active and effective presence of the United Nations system in Ukraine and stressed the importance of maintaining funding for programs and projects in 2024.
"I hope that next year our cooperation will become even more effective, because we have a lot of work ahead on the way to the EU, in particular in terms of implementing reforms, and the UN's support is important in this process," he said.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine also thanked for the invitation to participate in the meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, which took place in Lviv last week.
She emphasized the importance of the Ukrainian President's focus on communities and his desire to hear comprehensive answers from government officials together with the communities. Denise Brown also praised the dialogue between the central government and communities and the unprecedented gathering of all Ukrainian authorities at one event.