Japan has pledged to provide development aid worth 15.8 billion yen (equivalent to $106 million) to support the reconstruction of Ukraine from war damages in 7 key areas including infrastructure rebuilding and mine clearance, as reported by the Japanese news agency Kyodo on Sunday.
According to sources cited by the agency, without revealing their identities, it is expected that Tokyo and Kyiv will agree on Japan’s participation in the post-war reconstruction of the European nation.
Additionally, more than 10 memoranda of understanding are anticipated to be signed during the Japanese-Ukrainian conference aimed at enhancing economic reconstruction scheduled for February 19th in Tokyo.
The agency noted that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, will attend the reconstruction conference alongside approximately 300 other government officials and private sector representatives.
Kyodo added that the 15.8 billion yen aid will be used to provide mine-clearance equipment, construct temporary bridges, and other urgently needed resources to bolster reconstruction efforts in the country.
The seven areas of cooperation also include agricultural expansion, humanitarian situation improvement, biotechnology and industrial development, information technology, governance enhancement, and anti-corruption measures.
The agency highlighted that the Japanese-Ukrainian conference comes just before the second anniversary of the war between Russia and Ukraine on February 24th, amid growing concerns about the diminishing military support for Ukraine from Western countries.
Tokyo had previously announced a contribution of $37 million to the NATO fund in January to provide additional support to Ukraine, including a drone detection system, given Japan’s inability to offer direct military assistance due to its pacifist constitution.
