Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: Japan will offer Ukraine fresh economic support worth 5.5 billion dollars, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday, days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Fumio Kishida said in a statement that there was still a need to help people whose livelihoods had been devastated by the war, and to rebuild the devastated infrastructure.
He said the government would seek approval from parliament for the amendment of relevant laws and rules to allow the funds to be delivered.
Aid announcement comes as US president Biden visits Kyiv
The announcement came as US President Joe Biden, on an unannounced visit to Kyiv, promised increased arms deliveries for Ukraine.
Japan has joined Western powers in imposing sanctions on Russia and has provided humanitarian, although not military, aid to Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion was launched on February 24, 2022.
Japan holds this year’s Group of Seven presidency and Kishida also announced he will host a video conference of the bloc’s leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, a year since Russia began its war.
