From 16 to 19 June 2025, the seventh German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference took place in Münster under the motto “From solidarity to transformation: For Ukraine. For Europe.” took place. Around 650 representatives of municipalities, committed individuals and interested parties from the German-Ukrainian partnership network took part. The conference offered a wide range of opportunities for dialogue, information on support services and participation in expert forums and panel discussions on current topics of municipal cooperation. The conference was organised by Engagement Global and its Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW).
Joint commitment in challenging times
At the opening ceremony, Oleksii Makeiev, Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, Johann Saathoff, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, emphasised the importance of solidarity in the face of the ongoing Russian war of aggression. Solidarity is shown not only in material aid, but also in personal exchange and the expansion of municipal partnerships, the number of which has risen from 39 to 250 in the last ten years.
This message was also emphasised by Reem Alabali Radovan, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, during her online broadcast from Berlin on the second day of the event. She promised the partnership network further financial support for municipal cooperation. She particularly emphasised how impressive and important she found the joint commitment of municipalities from Germany and Ukraine as a strong sign of cross-border solidarity and partnership.
Expert forum: ‘Achieving more together – the potential of municipal companies in partnerships’
On the second day of the conference, the operator platform organised one of the ten expert forums together with SKEW and the German Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU). The focus was on the role of municipal companies in international partnerships.
Lena Pahlenberg (VKU) opened the forum with a keynote speech on the development policy engagement of municipal companies. Ingo Wagler (SKEW) then presented various support programmes offered by SKEW and GIZ, including the Experts Fund for Municipal Partnerships Worldwide and Connective Cities. Anastasiia Kahlow (GIZ) presented the Utility Platform focussing on solidarity utility partnerships in the water, wastewater and waste sector between German and Ukrainian municipal companies.
Lena Pahlenberg also referred to the logistics hub for Ukrainian water and wastewater companies and to current, urgent needs that continue to require broad support.
Practical examples: Cooperation in municipal services
Three successful partnerships from the field were then presented, focussing on mutual learning and sustainable cooperation.
Anatolii Sahach (Miskvodokanal Sumy), Nataliia Мuzychenko (Chernihivvodokanal) and Lena Sophie Sept (Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischen Wasserverband, OOWV) used the example of their utility partnership in the water and wastewater sector to show that it is not just about providing urgently needed resources. Through regular on-site visits, training courses and work shadowing in Germany, a continuous transfer of knowledge takes place, a win-win situation for both sides. This long-term cooperation leads to close, friendly relationships, which are particularly important in difficult times.
Robin Dietsch (Bergischer Abfallwirtschaftsverband, BAV) and Oleksander Kotenko (Ecoservices 2022) used their utility partnership in the waste sector to demonstrate how the targeted exchange of expertise, for example to promote home composting, can accelerate development processes that would otherwise take years.
Johana Berger (City of Hanover), Robert Kulle (hanova), Ihor Nabatov (Mykolayiv City Councillor) and Maksym Lytvynenko (municipal housing company), presented their town twinning, which is dedicated to social housing, among other things. The aim is to promote affordable housing, social security and effective local administration. The cooperation will soon be expanded to include a utility partnership in the water sector with enercity and three utility companies from Mykolayiv.
The great interest in the expert forum and the lively discussions that followed showed that there is a strong desire for cooperation, particularly in the areas of municipal services of general interest that were affected by the war.
The speakers’ presentations can be downloaded here as a PDF in Ukrainian and German.
Trinational perspectives and local insights
On the final day, the focus was on trilateral partnerships within the framework of European cooperation, in particular between Germany, Poland and Ukraine. The participants were also given an insight into Münster’s urban development in various working formats and specialist excursions.
Throughout the conference, the Utility Platform stand was a central location for dialogue and networking with existing partners and projects as well as with new interested parties who would like to initiate their own partnerships in the future.
Further press releases on the conference
Joint press release by the BMZ and the City of Münster: 180 neue kommunale Partnerschaften zwischen Deutschland und der Ukraine seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskrieges | BMZ
Press release by VKU: VKU unterstützt Kommunalkonferenz zum Wiederaufbau der Ukraine: VKU
Final declaration of the German-Ukrainian partnership conference (German): Pako_2025_Appell_Deutsch.pdf
Impressions
