Decision details

To consider and agree a proposal for Leeds City Council to sign a Friendship Oath with the City of Kharkiv in Ukraine.

The Director of City Development submitted a report which sought the Board’s approval for a Friendship Oath to be signed between the city of Leeds and the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine to officially mark the development of a more formal link between the two cities and the start of negotiations with the aim of forming a Friendship Agreement.

In presenting the report, the Executive Member provided the Board with an overview of the context which had led to the proposals within the report, including a White Paper Motion resolution of Full Council from 20^th July 2022. Also, it was noted that the proposed signing of the Friendship Oath was now scheduled to take place in Prague, rather than Brno, as had been referenced within the submitted report.

In considering this matter, Members highlighted the importance of the support being provided by Leeds to the Ukrainian community via a range of different initiatives, and that the signing of the Friendship Oath would mark the next step in developing further relations with Ukraine and Kharkiv.

Members welcomed and supported the proposals within the submitted report. 

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the signing of a Friendship Oath between the city of Leeds and Kharkiv in Ukraine be agreed;

(b)  That the proposal for the Lord Mayor of Leeds to sign the Friendship Oath in the presence of the Mayor of Kharkiv City Council on 2nd December 2023 in the city of Prague, be supported;

(c)  That the start of negotiations with the city of Kharkiv on the terms of a Friendship Agreement with a May 2024 deadline, be approved, with the detail of any Friendship Agreement being subject to securing external funds to support partnership activity;

(d)  That the resolutions of the Board arising from the submitted report be exempted from the Call In process pursuant to paragraph 5.1.3 of the Council’s Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rules on the grounds of urgency, as set out in full at paragraphs 10, 23 and 24 of the submitted report.

(The Council’s Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rules state that a decision may be declared as being exempt from the Call In process by the decision taker if it is considered that the matter is urgent and any delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s, or the public’s interests. In line with this, the resolutions contained within this minute were exempted from the Call In process, as per resolution (d) above, and for the reasons as set out within sections 10, 23 and 24 of the submitted report)

Executive Member briefing

Executive Member for Economy, Culture and Education