Japan announces meeting on Ukraine’s reconstruction

Tokyo, Jun 22 (EFE).- Japan’s foreign minister announced Thursday that the country will host a meeting on the reconstruction of Ukraine, which is expected to be attended by the european country’s prime minister.

Yoshimasa Hayashi announced the plan during a meeting in London with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who public broadcaster NHK said plans to attend.

The pair are in London for the Ukraine Recovery Conference focused on seeking public and private financing to help rebuild the country following Russia’s invasion.

The Japan meeting, to be held at the end of this year or early next year, would seek to renew the Asian country’s commitment to the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.

Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Thursday that Japan will assist Ukraine by using its “experience and expertise in mine and debris removal, agricultural and industrial recovery, and (…) democracy on different fronts.”

Matsuno highlighted the difficulties facing Kyiv and said they will take advantage of Japan’s 2023 presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), which also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, to coordinate and involve the international community.

During his visit to the UK, Hayashi also convened a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on the reconstruction of Ukraine.

This meeting came after G7 leaders met in the Japanese city of Hiroshima in May for a summit that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended as a guest and which included a session dedicated to Kyiv. EFE

emg-yk/ns-nt/tw