The Israeli Ukrainian Muni Summit 2019

On February 28, the first Israeli-Ukrainian municipal summit in history – the Israeli Ukrainian Muni Summit (IUMS 2019) – was held in Tel Aviv. The event was a part of a large-scale exhibition and conference MUNI WORLD, co-organized by the UN.
Within the framework of the summit, the Mayor of Kyiv and the Chairman of the Association of Ukrainian Cities Vitali Klitschko signed memorandums on cooperation with the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, as well as with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine (the legal name – the Chamber of Industry and Innovation Israel-Ukraine).

Mayors and representatives of municipal authorities from ten Ukrainian cities headed by Vitali Klitschko formed the core of the Ukrainian delegation. The participating cities were Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Rivne, Mariupol, Obukhiv, Vyshneve. This is the largest Ukrainian delegation of representatives of local authorities, that has ever visited Israel.

The Israeli Ukrainian Muni Summit was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine in partnership with the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel. The purpose of the IUMS 2019 was to establish bilateral cooperation at the local government level, as well as the exchange of experience in the field of security and innovative solutions for “smart cities”.
During their visit to Israel the Ukrainian mayors:
– took part in the B2B round table with Israeli companies, where they discussed the usage of advanced technologies in cities;
– visited Tel Aviv and Herzliya with excursions, where they could discover their smart city solutions;
– attended the events of the Muni World exhibition and conference.
On the 28th of February the summit was attended by mayors and deputy mayors of Ukrainian cities with delegations, mayors of Israeli twin cities, representatives of the Israeli government, leaders of Israeli companies, the diplomatic corps.
Among speakers:
– Haim Bibas, Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel;
– Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, Chairman of the Association of Ukrainian Cities;
– Evgeny Shulgin, Chairman of the board, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine;
– Hennadii Nadolenko, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador, Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel.

Also a discussion panel “Urban security and smart city in Ukraine: problems and solutions. Cooperation between Israel and Ukraine” was organized at the summit. The participants were Shlomo Dolberg (Director General of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel), Liora Shechter (CIO at Tel Aviv Muncipality), Oleksandr Slobozhan (Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities), Oleksij Litke (Head of Technical Support Department of the Kharkiv City Council), Sergiy Sukhomlyn (Mayor of Zhytomyr), Oleksandr Pavlov (Chairman of the board, Ukraine-Israel Business Council). The panel was moderated by Vlad Cherkassky, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine.

The first Israeli-Ukrainian municipal summit became a platform for the signing of very important documents between two countries – the Memorandum on Cooperation between the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel and the Association of Ukrainian Cities, as well as the Memorandum on Cooperation between the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine.
The Israeli Ukrainian Muni Summit 2019 allowed Ukrainian mayors and municipal officials to explore Israel’s experience in local government, urban security and “smart city”, and to share their insights about these areas. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine as an organizer was pleased with the results of the summit, as well as with the interest it aroused among the public and the Israeli media, and plans to hold a number of similar events in the future both in Israel and in Ukraine.