The NATO Representation in Ukraine, together with the NACP, organised and held a series of meetings between the Head of the NATO Programme on Building Integrity/Governance and Institutions, Defence and Security Cooperation Directorate, Operational Division, NATO, HQ, Joakim Frendin, and Ukrainian state authorities in the security and defence sector and representatives of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
The visit provided an opportunity to discuss ongoing joint activities and new potential projects aimed at strengthening Ukraine's resilience in the field of corruption prevention and good governance.
Participants from Ukraine, including the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the State Border Service of Ukraine, the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and the NACP itself presented their achievements in the field of integrity building, which received positive feedback from NATO. Ukrainian representatives also made proposals for further work in this area.
Mr Joakim Frendin noted the effectiveness of the comprehensive approach taken by the NACP in developing a unified action plan to implement the tasks set out in Interoperability Goal 0204 ‘Integrity Development’ of the NATO Initial Interoperability Requirements for Ukraine. The Alliance representative also emphasized the importance of conducting an in-depth analysis and updating NATO's recommendations on integrity development provided in the Report on the results of the expert analysis in Ukraine – 2019 (Self-assessment of the implementation of the Integrity Development Programme).
The parties discussed approaches for the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Strategic Review of Ukraine's Defence Procurement System (hereinafter referred to as the Strategic Review), which is one of the flagship projects of NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine. The NATO side highly appreciated the consideration of the recommendations of the Strategic Review in the NACP study ‘Corruption Risks in Centralised Logistics Procurement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,’ which, in particular, will contribute to their further implementation at the national level.
‘The main goal of such meetings is to coordinate and synchronise the activities of the Ukrainian side and NATO during the implementation of NATO recommendations aimed at building integrity,’ said Mr Joachim Frendin.
In turn, Yaroslav Liubchenko, Head of the Integrity Policy Development Department in the Security and Defence Sector at the NACP, emphasised that such meetings contribute to strengthening institutional dialogue and forming a strategic comprehensive vision for further cooperation. Synchronising the work of security and defence bodies, other state authorities, and the public with international partners in the field of integrity building will enable the implementation of international standards and interoperability with NATO in this area.
NACP agreed with NATO representatives on further joint steps towards building integrity in the security and defence sector. These include coordinating actions during the implementation of NATO recommendations provided within the NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine, in which the NACP is involved, as well as updating the Alliance's recommendations provided in the Report on the results of expert analysis in Ukraine – 2019 (Self-assessment of the implementation of the Integrity Education Programme).
