On 23 April 2026 representatives of Slovak and Ukrainian partners held talks on preparing two memoranda of cooperation. The first plan concerns the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the Lviv Region, the second a future partnership between the town of Partizánske and the city of Lviv. At the time of the meeting the documents were in preparation, not signed agreements.
The talks were attended by Jozef Božik, chairman of ZMOS; Alexander Sirko, chairman of the non-governmental organisation Mayors of Slovakia; Yevhenii Hirnyk, first deputy chairman of the Lviv Regional Council; and Volodymyr Chubirko, a deputy and former chairman of the Zakarpattia Regional Council.
Cooperation between regions and twin towns
The regional level can create room for larger development initiatives, while a direct link between two towns makes it possible to focus on specific local needs. The discussion covered schools and youth work, the exchange of experience, digital education and modern technologies, as well as opportunities for cooperation in healthcare.
Another important topic was involving the partners in European and international programmes. For any future projects it will be necessary to check the conditions of the individual calls, prepare feasible activities and agree on the responsibilities of the bodies involved.
The participants expressed interest in continuing the working steps towards finalising both memoranda. The meeting thus set a concrete direction for further talks: building Slovak and Ukrainian partnerships in parallel at the level of both regions and towns.