A Ukrainian delegation, led by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, presented priority projects for funding in 2025 to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Yulia Svyrydenko also expressed gratitude to JICA for its support since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
"The contribution of JICA to Ukraine's recovery and economic resilience is hard to overestimate. The agency's support for Ukraine has already reached $1.5 billion. This includes assistance for Ukraine's energy capabilities, the social sector, economic projects, and humanitarian demining. Specifically, Japan has allocated over $70 million through JICA for demining, which was used to purchase demining vehicles and equipment," noted Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy.
During the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation presented projects in the fields of finance, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, humanitarian demining, environmental protection, healthcare, education, social affairs, digitalization, and industrial development.
"One of the key topics of discussion was industrial development. We urged JICA to support projects aimed at strengthening industrial cooperation, creating joint ventures, supplying equipment and spare parts, and rebuilding destroyed industrial capacities," said Yulia Svyrydenko.
Another priority was energy. The Ukrainian delegation called for the supply of energy equipment for distributed generation, solar power plants for critical infrastructure, and support for the acquisition of specialized equipment and machinery for Ukrhydroenergo and Ukrenergo, as well as for clearing debris and restoring damaged energy infrastructure.
According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Japan has advanced energy-efficient technologies with high efficiency, and the experience of Japan can aid in restoring energy capabilities.
The Minister of Economy also thanked Japan for budgetary support and expressed hope that Ukraine will remain a priority for Japan in 2025. She also called on JICA to participate in financing investment projects consolidated in the Unified Portfolio of Public Investment Projects.
"We urged our Japanese partners to support the financing of public projects in healthcare, education, and social affairs. For private projects, we urged Japan to support the creation of a Project Preparation Facility to help businesses prepare quality projects. Additionally, we hope for Japan’s support in covering the budget deficit. We welcome our partners' assurances regarding support for Ukraine through the G7 ERA mechanism. JICA will participate in the implementation of this mechanism," said Yulia Svyrydenko.
It is worth noting that JICA is the Japanese International Cooperation Agency operating within the government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) program. The agency provides technical assistance, concessional loans for budget support, and has a grant aid instrument.
ERA is a mechanism created by G7 countries that will allow the use of income from frozen Russian sovereign assets to cover the principal loan amount, interest, and other costs related to loans obtained from partners under the initiative. ERA involves allocating up to $50 billion with subsequent repayment using income from frozen Russian assets.
