This meeting, which took place on the occasion of the Slovak-Ukrainian workshop Clusters meet Regions in Košice, Slovakia, was attended by 22 representatives from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania and Germany. Representatives from Slovakia and Poland joined with their participation and signatures later in the afternoon of the same day. 

The European Cluster Alliance and the European Commission supported this initiative.

National Cluster Association representatives declare a shared commitment to promoting and supporting the national cluster movement in Ukraine. Long-term goals consider faster integration of Ukrainian clusters and SMEs into European value chains and innovation space. The National Cluster Associations are thus creating a new cluster support programme focusing on interregional cooperation between Eastern European countries and Ukraine for consideration by the European Commission. This programme should significantly accelerate the development of the cluster movement in Ukraine. 

The memorandum of Cluster Partnerships for Ukraine contains the following points: 

• The building of a long-term, effective strategy for SMEs development
• The support and growth of 6 UCA’s Common Resource Centers (CRC)
• Growth of interregional cooperation with a clear focus
• Better alignment and integration of Ukrainian clusters into all major, existing EU programs
• Acceleration of Ukrainian clusters and their members in twin digital and green transition

The memorandum of Cluster Partnerships for Ukraine was signed by:

• Czech National Cluster Association – Jiri Herinek
• Lithuanian Clusters Network  Association  – Giedrius Bagušinskas
• Polish Cluster Association – Krzysztof Krystowski
• Romanian Cluster Association – Daniel Cosnita
• Union of Slovak Clusters – Daniel Ács
• Ukrainian Cluster Alliance – Oleksandr Yurchak

The signed Memorandum of Cluster Partnerships for Ukraine, signed by six National Cluster Associations, can be found in the annexe.