“Historic day”

Late in the evening of November 20, the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine hosted a ceremony of opening the office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ukraine’s key strategic partner in the field of large-scale infrastructure projects.

Speaking at the ceremony, Shigeki Sumi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Kyiv, emphasized that both the Japanese and the Ukrainians had been working for and looking forward to this event.

The Japanese ambassador announced that visa treatment of Ukrainians would be liberalized on January 1, 2018. “We in Japan will be welcoming as many tourists and businesspeople as possible.” He also said that a very interesting event – a ceremonial closure of the Year of Japan in Ukraine – would take place on Sofiivska Square on December 22.

UKRAINE AND JAPAN TO SHARE COMMON EXPERIENCE AND VALUES

JICA Vice President Kazuhiko Koshikawa stressed in his speech that his visit to Ukraine was of paramount importance.

“It is because I can see very many similarities between the two nations. After World War Two, in 1945, Japan lay devastated and people were in despair. However, thanks to aid, particularly from the World Bank, the nation managed to rebuild their country. In spite of difficult relations with the neighboring countries, Japan maintained peace and stability owing to successful diplomacy.

“Although Ukraine gained independence in 1991, it also found itself in dire straits. Yet it continues to make every effort to develop and prosper. This is why I feel that Ukraine and Japan share common experience and values,” Mr. Koshikawa said.

He said that the JICA is the world’s largest bilateral aid agency that contributes to the development of many countries by way of technical assistance, low-interest loans, and grants. In his words, the JICA has rendered assistance worth about 20 billion US dollars in liabilities and loans, 1.7-2 billion dollars in technical assistance, and 1 billion dollars in grants, in past few years.

The JICA works in more than 150 countries and regions and has almost 100 offices all over the world. “In Ukraine, the JICA will carry out projects in three priority fields: economic stabilization support, living environment improvement, and integration and promotion management,” Mr. Koshikawa said.

In his words, in response to the Ukrainian government’s request, the JICA has rendered financial aid to reconstruct Boryspil International Airport and modernize the Bortnychi aeration station. Besides, 530 Japanese specialists and experts will be invited to Ukraine, and more than 750 Ukrainian officials will be sent to Japan for advanced studies.

Mr. Koshikawa expressed a hope that the new JICA office in Kyiv would cooperate closely with the Ukrainian government, international agencies, and private companies, contribute to increasing confidence between Ukraine and Japan, and support Ukraine’s efforts in socioeconomic development and improvement of the people’s wellbeing.

“SHAPING RELATIONS BY MEANS OF A REAL INSTRUMENT”

Stepan Kubiv, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, pointed out in his Ukrainian-language speech that he was pleased to meet the JICA management for a second time on this historic day which would intensify the relations between Ukraine and Japan in practical terms. He also expressed gratitude to the government of Japan, the ambassador and his team, and the JICA vice president for their concerted efforts to stabilize and preserve peace in Ukraine over the past three years.

“The government of your country has been pursuing a most consistent policy of sanctions against Russia, the aggressor, in the past three years. The improved economic relations are based on the high-quality work the two countries have done in the years of independence, especially in the past three years,” Mr. Kubiv emphasized.

“Shaping relations by means of such a real instrument as JICA office will pave the way for new opportunities, innovation-, investment-, and modernization-related projects,” he continued. “We are negotiating long-term cheap and competitive loans which are very effective for the revitalization of Ukraine’s economy. These 10-to-30-year loans, which bear an up to 1.5-percent interest rate, is precisely what the Ukrainian economy needs today, taking into account the realities and hostilities in eastern Ukraine.”

“THE OPENING OF THE JICA OFFICE SHOWS OUR INVESTORS THAT IT IS PROFITABLE TO INVEST IN UKRAINE”

Hennadii Zubko, Minister for Regional Development, Civil Construction, Housing and Public Utilities of Ukraine, began his speech in English but then switched to Ukrainian. He recalled, quite aptly, that Japan carried out a decentralization reform in 1947, which gave a powerful impetus to the country’s regional development. In his view, the opening of the JICA office three months after the visit of this organization’s president is not only an economic, but also a political step. “Now we have Mr. Takaaki Kawano, the first chief of this office, and several important cutting-edge projects – from building bridges to processing solid wastes. From the angle of technology, the project of Bortnychi aeration station reconstruction is one of the best in the world,” Mr. Zubko emphasized.

In his opinion, these projects and the opening of the JICA office show other investors that it is profitable to invest in Ukraine if they are prepared to work with our country today.

ON SEVEN PROJECTS OF THE JICA OFFICE IN UKRAINE

Takaaki Kawano, chief of the JICA office in Ukraine, told about this organization’s activities in Ukraine. The first thing he said is that the JICA supports Ukraine in three priority fields: maintaining economic stability, improving the living conditions of Ukrainians, management and domestic integration.

In his words, the JICA has issued a 1 billion dollar worth loan to modernize the Bortnychi aeration station in Kyiv. Besides, it has offered technical assistance to draw up a special project report and lay the groundwork for inviting bids next year.

The next project is about the development of public broadcasting. The JICA has rendered technical assistance to support and increase the capacity of the State Television Company and supplied the equipment for making cultural and educational TV programs.

It is also planned to set up an entity for warning about natural disasters and emergencies.

The project of technical assistance, which envisions sending Ukrainian experts to and their on-the-job training in Japan, was launched in January this year and will be finished in September 2019.

Another project concerns the finance ministry advisor. As requested by the Ukrainian government in January 2016, the JICA appointed Masaru Tanaka as an advisor at this ministry. Tanaka had worked at the Central Bank of Japan and at the IMF. Accordingly, he has very wide experience in the banking sector. Mr. Tanaka’s job is to help the government of Ukraine reform the banking sector.

The next project is about increased environmental control in the Chornobyl zone and the related legal issues. It envisions using the knowledge about re-creation of the environment we received after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. It is the joint SATRES program drawn up by Ukrainian and Japanese researchers. The project was launched in June 2017 and will be finished in 2019.

As Mr. Kawano pointed out, the last, seventh, project is about collecting information on handling solid wastes in Ukraine. In his words, the project’s goal is to analyze the current situation in the handling of solid wastes in three cities of Ukraine: Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. After finishing the study that will begin in January next year, the JICA will assess aid requirements and possibilities in this field.

Mr. Kawano said in conclusion that the juridical registration of the JICA office was being finished now and he would move to Kyiv in mid-December.