Japan will finance repairs in Donbas schools

The “Early Recovery of Social Services and Peace-building in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts” project will be implemented jointly with the Ukrainian government and    the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) over the coming year. “The first tranche will be disbursed approximately in one month’s time in mid-December. In parallel, we will join the UNDP and the Ukrainian authorities in determining which facilities will reopen,” Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi noted.

The funds will be managed by the UNDP. The Ukrainian government will help international organizations, for example by finding facilities in need of repair. The project will allow social infrastructure objects to be repaired, with schools, hospitals, children’s homes and the like being priorities. In addition, local authorities will learn how to effectively provide social services.

Coordinator of the UN system in Ukraine Neal Walker had just returned from the east of Ukraine. “I   was impressed to see the society uniting to help refugees and victims of the events in the Donbas,” Walker said. “The region needs short-term humanitarian assistance as well as long-term projects, such as reopening plants and factories, because the Donbas has always been one of the economic engines of Ukraine.” Foreign experts want to involve local businesses and communities in recovery work in eastern regions, as it will bring people together and create jobs.

The financial monitoring will be a domain of international representatives. Japanese Ambassador Sumi commented: “The UNDP will increase the number of its employees in Donetsk and Luhansk regions to have a clear view of how the money is spent. The Japanese government will send representatives to the east as well. As for me, I plan to go to the Donbas in two weeks.”

Japan approved financial assistance to Ukraine this spring, amounting to 1.5 billion dollars. Most of these funds will be spent on economic reforms in the country. Japan agreed to provide Ukraine with another assistance package in November, which includes projects aiming to help Donetsk and Luhansk regions to recover. Sumi noted: “Japan feels that urgent support is needed for those in the area of the Donbas, since the cold winter is setting in. Together with the Ukrainian government and the UN, Japan wants to be a ‘good Samaritan’ and help those who need it.”

According to the UNDP, almost 2,000 public buildings have been damaged in the area of ATO. Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Hroisman said there were plans to establish a global program to rebuild the Donbas. “There are three sectors: infrastructure reconstruction, social adaptation of eastern territories, and job creation,” Hroisman remarked. “We need a plan for the reintegration of the region into modern European life.”

Japan’s support for Ukraine may include investments as well, as according to Sumi, negotiations are underway on these issues. The ambassador of Japan in Ukraine is sure that “Japan can invest in the agricultural sector of Ukraine and its industry, while the Ukrainian society may find it needs our coal use technologies. It is important to get small and medium businesses from Japan involved in such projects.”