Japan to set up coordination council for Ukraine recovery uniting Ukrainian, Japanese business
Japan has announced the creation of a coordination council for the recovery of Ukraine, which will engage both Ukrainian and Japanese businesses. This was announced by Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Hiromasa Nakano during a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and members of the Ukrainian delegation.
"We are sincerely grateful to Japan for its willingness to join the restoration of the destroyed Ukrainian infrastructure. Japan has experience in disaster response, technology and production required for reconstruction. We are confident that their expertise will help Ukraine speed up the process of rebuilding destroyed facilities. Minister Hiromasa Nakano said Japan is ready to hold the first meeting of the Coordination Council, where it has already invited representatives of the Government of Ukraine. We are grateful to our partners for this invaluable support," Svyrydenko said, according to the press service of the Economy Ministry of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian side voiced priorities in cooperation with the Government of Japan in terms of infrastructure restoration. In particular, they urged to continue providing Ukrzaliznytsia with rails for the restoration of the railroad pavement. Ukraine needs 25,000 tonnes of R-65 steel rails. Japan has already transferred the same amount through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), thanks to which it was possible to restore 200 kilometers of railway tracks in 2023-2024.
Also, among the priority projects are the restoration of housing infrastructure with the involvement of advanced Japanese technologies and innovations, exchange of experience to train specialists in the transportation sector and other projects.
"It is important that we are already working out specific coordination mechanisms in the field of renewal. This will give us an opportunity for direct interaction on the issue of priorities and needs for reconstruction both at the level of national governments and at the level of the private sector, whose role in the reconstruction process is equally important. We expect that the coordination council will become an effective mechanism for attracting support for the reconstruction of critical infrastructure, transportation sector, social facilities and housing," Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach said.
The sides discussed how Japan and Ukraine can facilitate the involvement of Japanese companies in the restoration of Ukraine and what tools the private sector needs from both governments.