On 9 December, an online meeting was held  headed by the Chairmen of the Coordination Council for Economic Cooperation with Japan under the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and

the Committee for Business Cooperation with Ukraine of the Japan Business Federation «Keidanren». The event was headed by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyridenko and Chairman of the «Keidanren» Committee, Chairman of the Board of Directors of «Marubeni» Corporation Fumiya Kokubu.

First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyridenko stressed that Ukraine and Japan have big perspectives for developing mutually beneficial economic cooperation, including trade liberalization, expanding the investment presence of Japanese business in Ukraine, joint cooperation in global projects.

Yulia Sviridenko informed the Japanese colleagues about the economic situation in Ukraine, which, given the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently characterized by a resumption of activity and growth. Thus, for 9 months of 2021 the country's GDP increased by 2,1%. The industry also shows a growth of production by 1,4% for 10 months of this year, in agriculture in January-October there was an acceleration of production growth by 13%. 

The First Deputy Prime Minister stressed that in January-September 2021 the volume of capital investment in Ukraine increased by 9,7% compared to the same period last year.

In particular, Japanese investment in Ukraine as of June 30, 2021 amounted to 229,6 million US dollars (+ 20,2 million US dollars). Today, one of the promising mechanisms for attracting new investment in the public sector of Ukraine’s economy is public-private partnership. The Ukrainian side is interested in involving Japanese business in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

Deputy Minister Taras Kachka stressed that the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement will be a significant impetus for the development of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

«For 9 months this year, the trade turnover between Ukraine and Japan amounted to 1,1 billion US dollars, which is 35,6% more than in the same period last year. In particular, Ukraine’s export increased 2,3 times. Trade liberalization will promote the realization of trade potential between our countries and stimulate business partnerships», - Taras Kachka said.

The parties discussed other important aspects of economic cooperation and stressed the importance of implementing joint business projects in the field of energy, aircraft and aviation, mechanical engineering, IT, tourism, environmental protection and others.

At the end of the meeting, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine invited the Japanese delegation to visit Kyiv in the first quarter of 2022 to hold a joint Coordination Council for Economic Cooperation.

The event was joined by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Japan Serhii Korsunskyi, representatives of the Ministry of Economy and other ministries, the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Reference source: Diia.Business.Export