Development Partnership Forum Joint Statement

On November 19, 2021 representatives of international development partners (DPs) and the Government of Ukraine (GOU) met online and in-person under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal for a Development Partnership Forum meeting in Kyiv.

This annual meeting is a forum for candid exchange between the parties on progress in key reform areas as well as an opportunity to improve the effectiveness and policy alignment of international technical assistance (ITA) to Ukraine. The Forum took place within the framework of the Three-Tier ITA coordination mechanism and built on the outcomes of the previous Development Partnership Forum held in October 2020 and the fourth Ukraine Reform Conference (URC) held in Vilnius, Lithuania in July 2021.

The meeting served as a platform for discussion of the agenda for the preparatory meetings for URC 2022, known as “On the Road to Lugano”. Switzerland and Ukraine, as co-hosts of URC 2022, decided to narrow the focus to key reform streams clustered around two pillars: "Stability" (Justice, Rule of Law, and Anticorruption; Decentralization; Reforms for reintegration) and "Prosperity" (Green Transition; Banking and Financial sector; Corporate Governance and Human Capital). Digital transformation is defined as a crosscutting reform stream. Both the preparatory meetings “On the Road to Lugano” and the URC 2022 are guided by a positive and inclusive approach.

Participants commended the GOU on its leadership and progress in 2021, despite the challenges associated with the need to continually defend itself from external aggression as well as with significant geopolitical and economical challenges, including the COVID 19 pandemic. Substantial advancements by the government were noted on land reform and decentralization. The participants also welcomed the establishment of the Ethics Council to the High Council of Justice and the Selection Commission for the High Qualification Commission of Judges that together pave the way for the renewal of the judicial system. Development partners reaffirmed their commitment to support Ukraine in its implementation of this essential reform.