Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide Ukraine with a $100 million loan for 30 years at 1% per annum with a grace period of 10 years, the Ministry of Finance said on its website.
According to the press release, the agreement was signed on Monday by Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and JICA President Dr. Akihiko Tanaka.
“The concessional loan of 13 billion yen, which is the first part of the agreed financial assistance between Ukraine and Japan, will be directed to the state budget to finance priority expenses. First of all, to support the most unprotected population of Ukraine,” the press service of the ministry said, citing Marchenko.
The signed agreement refers to the budgetary support for the stabilization of the situation in Ukraine, in particular, the provision of priority social, and humanitarian expenditures, health care, support for internally displaced persons, and other priority expenditures, the Finance Ministry added.
Japan will increase financial assistance to Ukraine from $100 million to $300 million, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said after a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Friday.
“We already had the decision of the Japanese government to provide financial assistance to Ukraine – $100 million. During a personal meeting, the Japanese finance minister supported our request to increase funding to $300 million,” Marchenko wrote on Facebook after the meeting.
He also met with Italian Finance Minister Daniele Franco and discussed with him a new loan program, the details of which Marchenko has not yet disclosed.
Japan has promised to increase the volume of loans provided to Ukraine from $100 million to $300 million, Western media reported, citing a statement by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Kisida noted that “support for the Ukrainian economy is an urgent task.”
Earlier Tuesday, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi promised that Tokyo would provide Ukraine with masks and clothing capable of protecting against chemical weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. The cargo will be shipped on commercial flights as soon as it’s ready, he added.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the attraction of concessional funds from the Japanese government in the amount of 13 billion yen (about $103.75 million at the current exchange rate), Prime Minister Denys Shmygal announced.
“Today, at a government meeting, we finalized agreements with the government of Japan to raise aid in the amount of 13 billion yen,” Shmygal said in his address on Friday evening.
According to him, these preferential funds will be used to finance the priority needs of the country and the Ukrainian people.
Indian and Japanese Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida on Saturday called for peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine during a meeting in Delhi, Japan Times has reported.
The leaders urged an “immediate cessation of violence,” and noted that the only way to resolve the conflict is through dialogue and diplomacy.
Kishida and Modi also stressed the importance of ensuring the security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and overcoming the humanitarian crisis that has developed in Eastern Europe due to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees there, Japan Times said.
In addition, the leaders discussed the strengthening of economic ties between the countries and the situation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Japanese Self-Defense Force has sent bullet-proof vests and other non-lethal supplies in response to a request from Ukraine, NHK TV channel has reported.
The KC-767 transport aircraft left the Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Tuesday night for Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine. The items also include heavy winter clothes and emergency food supplies.
This is the first time the SDF has provided bullet-proof vests to another country.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Japan plans to deliver more equipment and supplies to Ukraine once they are ready, such as food, hygiene products, cameras, power generators, tents and winter clothing.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said it was “critical” for Japan and its national security to support Ukraine.
