Japan, Ukraine Upgrade Relations To 'Special Global Partnership' - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) Japan and Ukraine decided to significantly increase the level of the bilateral relations during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Ukraine and his summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"Prime Minister of Japan, Kishida Fumio and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held their Summit Meeting in Kyiv on 21 March, 2023 ... Recognizing the enormous potential of the bilateral cooperation between Japan and Ukraine, the leaders decided to upgrade bilateral relationship to the Special Global Partnership," the statement read.

On Tuesday, Kishida visited Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy.

The Japanese prime minister invited the Ukrainian president to take part in the G7 summit in Hiroshima in online-format. Zelenskyy accepted the invitation. Kishida also said that Japan would allocate $7.1 billion to aid Ukraine and pledged to provide an additional $470 million to support Ukraine's energy system and cover other humanitarian needs. He also said that Tokyo would provide Ukraine with $30 million for non-lethal equipment via NATO's fund.

The G7 summit will be held in Hiroshima from May 19-21 this year.

Kishida became the last of the G7 leaders, who met with Zelenskyy in person. After his visit to Ukraine, the Japanese prime minister returned to Poland to meet with the country's leadership.