On April 16, the International Cohesion Forum is being held in Kyiv. The focus is on issues of comprehensive cooperation between the state, communities and international partners.

Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksii Kuleba opened the forum, emphasizing that communities are the key pillar of the country’s resilience.

“The main reason for our resilience today is the people in the communities. They were the first to stop the enemy, they are the ones who now provide basic services, make decisions, support each other and our military.
I am grateful to every community that joined the "Plich-o-Plich" initiative. This project has already united 450 communities from different regions, which are jointly implementing specific reconstruction initiatives. This is an example of the cohesion that we are talking about today.
Cohesion is daily interaction between people, these are decisions made in crisis conditions with a thought for the future. This is a willingness to help not only a neighboring community, but also a distant one. This is a strategic vision of what Ukraine should be like after victory,” said Oleksii Kuleba.

The Minister also reported on new steps by the Government: a decision was recently made on financial support for frontline communities — 1.5 billion UAH last week and another 1.8 billion — this week. On average, 10 million UAH per community. The funds are directed to shelter, special equipment, restoration of critical infrastructure and other vital needs.

Separately, he emphasized that the Ministry continues the decentralization reform to ensure the capacity of local governments.

During the forum, 4 discussion panels are planned. The first one, “International Support for the Reconstruction and Development of Ukraine,” was attended by Oleksii Kuleba, Jan Shyszko, State Secretary of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of the Republic of Poland, Viktor Mykyta, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Masashi Nakagome, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan, Jaco Cilliers, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine, Gaël Veyssière, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic in Ukraine.

The participants discussed the status of implementation of international projects, further steps of cooperation and prospects for reconstruction.

Oleksii Kuleba emphasized that effective coordination with partners will be an important element in ensuring the long-term sustainability of both communities and Ukraine as a whole.

“Today, we are preparing for two scenarios: a quick recovery if conditions remain as they are, and a more comprehensive approach if the situation changes in our favor. We are ready for this, we know and understand what we will do. We have an example of working with already deoccupied territories - Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson regions.
At the same time, we realize that much now depends on our maximum precise coordination with international partners. It is the joint development of our further steps that will lay the foundation for our sustainability for many years and ensure effective reconstruction in any of the scenarios.
Thank you to the communities, thank you to the partners who remain with Ukraine. It is through joint efforts that we form a solid foundation for a safe and just restoration,” Oleksii Kuleba noted.

In his speech, Viktor Mykyta emphasized the importance of developing international cooperation at the community level for effective reconstruction.

“We are grateful to all international partners who continue to actively help us today. However, for this interaction to be even more effective, a comprehensive approach is needed. The Office of the President of Ukraine is currently actively working to establish international cooperation at the regional and community levels. We see real results when countries take regions under their patronage and implement reconstruction projects there.
Everything starts with communities and ends with communities. The only policy that should be at the level of our state is the policy of cohesion. The whole world supports us today. We must show by our example that we are also united,” commented the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

International partners, in turn, emphasized their readiness to continue to support Ukraine and work with the Ministry for the further implementation of reconstruction projects.

“The path to sustainable recovery is not just about infrastructure. It is about rebuilding trust, strengthening communities and ensuring inclusive governance. At UNDP, we believe that true resilience begins with cohesion – within communities, between communities, and between citizens and institutions. Together with the Government of Japan, we are proud to support initiatives like this forum, which bring together international partners and local leaders to jointly seek solutions based on transparency, participation and lasting impact,” said Jaco Cilliers, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine.

Masashi Nakagome highlighted the success of the programs that the country is implementing to support Ukraine and also stressed its readiness to continue this assistance.

“Japan has always been and will remain a reliable partner of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the aggression, Japan has provided over $12 billion in humanitarian, financial, recovery and reconstruction assistance. Since 2022, through UNDP, Japan has allocated over $241 million to support local recovery initiatives in over 30 communities. Responding to the urgent needs of communities is the basis for recovery, resilience and national cohesion. Japan will continue to support Ukraine in this important process,” said the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan.

Separately, within the framework of the forum, participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the functionality of the DREAM ecosystem in a special interactive zone. Among other things, there was an opportunity to review investment projects in the Unified Portfolio, which are already posted on the public portal dream.gov.ua, key data on recovery and development projects, as well as test monitoring tools for open data analysis.

The event was organized by the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with financial support from the Government of Japan.

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