PanOrient News | Japan-Ukraine Foreign Ministers Exchange Praises over their Nuclear Policies

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Diplomacy

Japan-Ukraine Foreign Ministers Exchange Praises over their Nuclear Policies

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tokyo - (PanOrient News) Japanese and Ukrainian foreign ministers exchanged praises in Tokyo today over their nuclear policies, and agreed to bolster cooperation in the areas of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

At the Japan-Ukraine foreign ministers' meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara told his counterpart Mr. Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, that Japan praises Ukraine for shipping a significant portion of its highly-enriched uranium out of the country at the end of last year.

Foreign Minister Gryshchenko, meanwhile, praised Japan's contributions in the areas of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the cooperation on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation led by Japan and Australia.

The meeting was held at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo and lasted for about 40 minutes. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister is also accompanying President of Ukraine Mr. Viktor Yanukovych on his official working visit to Japan.

The talks covered bilateral economic relations, dialogue and cooperation, and also cooperation on global Issues, according to the statment issued by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

It said that Foreign Minister Gryshchenko noted that Ukraine's political situation has been stabilizing and that the environment has been created to enable Japanese companies to consider long-term investment in Ukraine. He expressed his hope that the President's visit to Japan would help foster Japan-Ukraine relations on a variety of fronts, including politics and economics.

Minister Maehara responded that Japan wishes to strengthen its cooperation with Ukraine, a country with high growth potential, and to this end, both ministers agreed to launch negotiations on concluding an investment treaty and in promoting the improvement of the investment environment in Ukraine, the statement said.

Foreign Minister Gryshchenko stated also that Ukraine's high potential in the agricultural sector was vital not only for commercial reasons, but also from the standpoint of the growing world population and assistance to Africa. In response, Minister Maehara said that ensuring multiple supplies of food was one of the pillars of the economic diplomacy promoted by himself, and that he would like to proceed with considerations to promote Japanese agricultural investment which may lead to the expansion of agricultural production in Ukraine.

With respect to cooperation through the Green Investment Scheme (GIS) mechanism based on the Kyoto Protocol, Minister Maehara requested the appropriate management of funds provided by Japan, and expressed his hopes for early implementation of environment projects which utilize Japan's advanced technology. In response, Foreign Minister Gryshchenko stated that Ukraine intends to continue and enhance the cooperation through GIS.

On their bilateral dialogue and cooperation, both ministers appreciated the role the Ukraine-Japan Centre has been fulfilling, and agreed to cooperate on making the Centre a central part of the bilateral cooperation. Furthermore, they concurred to work closely to hold a meeting of the Japan-Ukraine Cooperation Committee at the Foreign Ministers' level in 2011, aimed at further enhancing their bilateral relations, according to the statement.

Both ministers also agreed to closely cooperate on the reform of the United Nations Security Council and other issues.

PanOrient News