New EU initiatives and instruments to foster sustainable urban development and boost local economic growth in Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Moldova will be in focus at an international conference on "Fostering sustainable development in Eastern Partnership countries" on October 26-27, in the Armenia capital Yerevan.

Representatives of central, regional and local authorities of Eastern Partnership countries will discuss key issues in empowering regional authorities and citizens, administrative reform, and devolution as an effective instrument for sustainable local development, as well as encouraging participative approach to local economic development in the EaP region.

The European Commission will also launch the second phase of Covenant of Mayors in the Eastern Partnership countries (CoM East) and the new Mayors for Economic Growth initiative (M4EG), targeting energy efficiency and the business sector respectively.

These actions aim at fostering cooperation between local authorities and civil society organisations, making economies less energy intensive and more competitive, EN Info Center reports.