Source: Official site of Zaporizhia Oblast State Administration, Media and Information Department
First Deputy Governor Dmytro Davtian met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada in Ukraine Mr. Roman Waschuk. They discussed opportunities for cooperation in the field of economy and agriculture, implementation of international technical assistance PLEDDG Project and measures for attracting investments into Zaporizhia Oblast
According to Mr. Waschuk, regional cooperation is an important element of a special partnership between Ukraine and Canada. This aspect of the bilateral relations is reinforced by the presence in Canada of a large Ukrainian community, which promotes the establishment and maintenance of partnership with regions and cities of Ukraine in various fields, including culture, science and education, business, etc. Ambassador also noted that Zaporizhia Oblast has a high potential and prospects for development. For this reason, Canada is willing to support projects, initiated by Zaporizhia authorities, and not only to continue but also to extend the joint partnership.
Zaporizhia Oblast benefits from cooperation with Canada, particularly because of the opportunity to learn from the positive experience of this country in strategic planning and establishing dialogue between business and government.
It is worth mentioning the cooperation of our region within the Canada-Ukraine Partnership Project “Regional Governance and Development”, which was implemented by the Canadian Urban Institute and supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Also, we are very pleased that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has chosen our region as a partner for its “Partnership for Local Economic Development and Democratic Governance” Project, which now assists our region in developing city development strategies.
The new 2020 Zaporizhia Oblast Development Strategy has been made with assistance from PLEDDG Project.
The next step is cooperation on SME development and investment strategy.
In addition, since 2008 Zaporizhia Oblast has been involved in the implementation of the Ukrainian fruit-production project. This ongoing project makes a significant contribution to the strengthening of farmers, entrepreneurs and other representatives of the industry, said Dmytro Davtian.
In turn, the Head of External Relations and Foreign Economic Affairs Office of the Regional State Administration Artur Boiko focused on security issues for foreign investors.
Due to joint efforts of Ukrainian armed forces and the international community, Zaporizhia Oblast is totally safe.
You personally observed that the political situation in our region is stable and under control. We will be happy to welcome all business missions and invite your entrepreneurs to visit forums and exhibitions to be held in Zaporizhia.
Taking into account the successful implementation of Ukrainian fruit-production development project in our region, we suggest considering the possibility of further support of small business development in rural areas through the creation of agricultural cooperatives.
A similar project is being implemented with the support of the Government of Canada in Lviv Oblast, and there is a plan for its expansion to other oblasts such as Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson. Zaporizhia Oblast wants to join this project, as such project can be implemented in our region with the same degree of success, or even better, and the need for such initiative for the residents of our rural areas is huge, said the official.
I am confident that very soon there will be some positive results. We look forward to support from the Canadian counterparts in all joint programs and projects, and, in the first place, – in implementation of the PLEDDG Project, where there are already some positive results. But there is much more work to be done in this direction, – summarized the official.