Draft State Regional Development Strategy of Ukraine for 2028-2034 to be presented this year
A draft State Regional Development Strategy for 2028-2034 will be presented this year so that communities have time to prepare their own strategic planning documents, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Riabykin said.
"We are entering a new stage of strategic planning. As you know, the current State Regional Development Strategy expires in 2027. We plan to complete work on the draft SRDS for 2028-2034 this year so that you will have a year to develop your own strategies based on it," he said on Wednesday during the I_CAN Community Forum, "A Quality Strategy – Effective Investments in Community Recovery and Development," an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.
He added that, overall, the number of such documents is satisfactory: 93% of communities already have their own strategies, and more than 1,000 communities have medium-term priority public investment plans (MPPIPs) and unified public investment project portfolios (UPIPs). However, according to him, more attention should be paid to the quality of these documents.
"As far as I know, amendments to Resolution No. 527 are already at the final stage, and you will be able to revise your medium-term priority public investment plans," he said.
Riabykin also recalled the development of a new system for the functioning of the State Fund for Regional Development in accordance with Chapter 22 ("Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments") of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, which is part of Cluster 5 ("Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion Policy"). The cluster defines the rules for planning and using Structural Funds and the EU Cohesion Fund to reduce disparities between regions.
"This Chapter 22 specifically states that the state must have its own financial instrument as a system that ensures financing for the implementation of public investment projects in communities and regions, after which the European Union’s structural funds reimburse expenditures if the implemented projects meet the requirements. The State Fund for Regional Development must become such a clear and transparent instrument," Riabykin said.