Zelensky calls with Japanese PM, discusses economic cooperation

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the president said on April 3, according to his Telegram channel.

Zelensky thanked the Japanese prime minister for more than $12 billion in assistance that Tokyo has already provided since the start of the full-scale war, in addition to further support pledged for 2024.

"I am personally grateful to the prime minister for holding the Japanese-Ukrainian conference in Tokyo in February, at which more than 50 bilateral agreements were signed," Zelensky said.

The agreements, signed by Kishida, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and other Japanese and Ukrainian officials in Tokyo, were aimed to tighten cooperation in various business sectors and involve Japanese institutions more closely in Ukraine's reconstruction.

Ukraine's expected reconstruction costs amount to $486 billion over the next decade, according to an assessment by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, and the EU.

Earlier this week, Ukraine received $118 million in aid from Japan as part of two World Bank projects.

PM Shmyhal: Ukraine, Japan sign 56 documents on cooperation, reconstruction

The newly finalized documents include an intergovernmental convention to avoid double taxation, an important step for Japanese business projects in Ukraine. The two governments also signed a memorandum of cooperation in education and technology.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek