Japan to provide $470M to Ukraine for reconstruction, restoration of energy infrastructures

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan has decided to provide two aid packages totaling $470 million to Ukraine for the reconstruction of the country and energy recovery.

Japan’s Ambassador to Ukraine Matsuda Kuninori and Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksandr Kubrakov signed “notes for the Grant Aid ‘the Programme for Emergency Recovery Phase 2’ (grant amount: 53.072 billion yen (400 million US dollars)” on Wednesday, said a statement by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The statement said that the aid will provide Ukraine with the equipment necessary to conduct demining and debris clearance, which it said are “prerequisites for recovery and reconstruction,” as well as livelihood reconstruction, recovery of agriculture, and strengthening “democracy and governance.”

It said the second aid is valued at $70 million and will be transferred to Kyiv through the UN Development Program (UNDP). The aid will be used to support the restoration of energy infrastructures damaged by “Russian attacks,” and thereby “contributing to recovering and enhancing power supply to Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHPs) which provide Ukrainian people with electricity, heat and water.”

“These supports will embody the new additional grant aid of 470 million US dollars, announced by Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida during his visit to Ukraine on March 21. Japan will continue to support and stand by the people of Ukraine who are facing hardship, in collaboration with the international community, including the G7 members,” the statement said.