As an introduction on the second day of the Conference, State Secretary Raščan underlined the importance of the continued implementation of Ukraine’s reform agenda, pledging Slovenia’s support for Ukrainian efforts in this process. He emphasised Slovenia’s cooperation in the U-LEAD programme based in Kyiv that provides professional and financial assistance to the Ukrainian authorities and local communities in putting the decentralisation and regional development reforms into practice. In the second part of his speech, he focused on the importance of digital transformation as a lever for enhanced competitiveness of the economy and an important aspect of COVID-19 post-pandemic recovery and prevention of crises as we move forward.

The Ukraine Reform Conference aims to bring together Ukrainian decision-makers and international partners to assess the country’s progress in reform implementation. The key priorities of this year’s conference were EU-Ukraine relations, reform of the defence and security sector, opportunities in the business and investment environment, and the development of democratic institutions.