Meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal (Summary)

[Provisional translation]

On February 19, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Denys SHMYHAL, Prime Minister of Ukraine, who was visiting Japan to attend Japan-Ukraine Conference for the Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction for about 35 minutes from around 6:35 pm. The overview is as follows.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed again Prime Minister Shmyhal's visit to Japan and stated that Japan-Ukraine Conference for the Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction produced the remarkable outcomes, including the signing of over 50 cooperation documents by the public and private sectors. In response, Prime Minister Shmyhal expressed his pleasure at the successful holding of today's conference through the cooperation of the two governments, and appreciation to the Japanese side for its cooperation, and stated that he would like to convey President Zelenskyy's appreciation and respect for Prime Minister Kishida. Prime Minister Shmyhal expressed his sympathy to the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, and Prime Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude.
2. Prime Minister Kishida stated that, as the chair of the G7 last year, he had led international support for Ukraine, and that the international community must renew its momentum to support Ukraine, and that Japan, based on the outcomes of today's conference, will strengthen its efforts toward Ukraine's reconstruction through public-private partnership. Prime Minister Kishida also conveyed that Japan will steadily follow up on the outcomes of today's conference, including a tax treaty and an investment agreement, and will make efforts to further expand the involvement of the private sector, as well as introduce measures to ease multiple visa requirements for Ukrainian private sector officials involved in cooperation projects.
3. The two sides exchanged views on efforts toward peace, including the Peace Formula. Prime Minister Kishida conveyed that the preliminary consultations on the Information Protection Agreement, for which Prime Minister Kishida announced the start of coordination during his visit to Kyiv last March, have been completed and that the decision has been made to start formal negotiations. Prime Minister Shmyhal welcomed the start of the negotiations.
4. Finally, Prime Minister Kishida stated that Japan will continue to stand with Ukraine until peace returns to the beautiful land of Ukraine, and both sides concurred to firmly follow up on the outcomes of Prime Minister Shmyhal’s visit to Japan and today's conference.