On Monday, July 4, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi. The sides discussed practical cooperation between the two countries, as well as key areas of further cooperation.

Volodymyr Groysman has thanked Ambassador Shigeki Sumi for the support of Japan to Ukraine in its political and economic spheres, including the reconstruction of Bortnicheskoy WWTP. He recalled that Japan had allocated about $ 1 billion for the project. The Prime Minister noted that it is planned to implement this project in the near future.

"This is an outstanding project for the residents of Kyiv, adjacent territories, major ecological project and the contribution of Japan is very important," said Volodymyr Groysman.

The Prime Minister called for the deepening and development of bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and investment fields. "We are very interested in this, ready to host representatives of the Japanese business in Ukraine. A visit of representatives of the business circles of Japan, scheduled for the second half of this year, would be a very good event, where we could learn about our joint opportunities, joint needs and outline new projects," he pointed out.

The Ambassador of Japan expressed hope that the reconstruction project of Bortnicheskoy WWTP would be successfully implemented. He outlined potential projects, in the implementation of which Japan can help, he also drew attention to the urgent issues that need to be resolved. Among them - strengthening the independence of the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine, as well as VAT refunding through using the aid from international organizations.

The parties discussed potential areas of cooperation. The Prime Minister informed the Ambassador about the interest in attracting Japanese side to such priority areas of the Government’s work as the road construction, energy efficiency, upgrading of regional hospitals, as well as modern models of waste management.

Volodymyr Groysman also said that one of the priorities of the Government is the reform of customs. He informed that, according to agreements with US partners, Ukraine hosts the U.S. Mission to assess the needs in reforming Ukrainian customs offices, which will develop a report on necessary renovation and changes in the system of the customs service’s work.

Discussing the implementation of the Minsk agreements, Volodymyr Groysman emphasized that Ukraine has made every effort to implement the agreements, while the Russian side does not fulfill its obligations. "There is no alternative to the Minsk process, and we have to implement them all," he stressed.

The Prime Minister informed that in Donbas the number of shelling against Ukrainian military grows daily. According to him, "Russia should cease fire, withdraw its fighters, pick up weapons, it is essential to deploy an OSCE police mission, establish peace there, hold elections as well as reintegrate this territory."