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The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is considering financing energy and infrastructure programs in Ukraine that were previously managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
This was stated by Head of JICA’s Ukraine office Hideki Matsunaga at the 5th Ukrainian-Japanese Forum organized by the New Europe Center, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.
Matsunaga noted that USAID and JICA have different approaches, making it difficult to take over certain USAID-implemented programs, particularly in the legal sector and direct financing of civil society.
“But we would like to identify gaps in the energy sector and try to fill them as much as possible. Of course, we have certain budget limitations, but we want to do more… We certainly need to seriously consider the energy and infrastructure sectors, and we will explore these areas,” said Matsunaga.
As reported by Ukrinform, on January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all foreign aid programs for 90 days pending a review to determine if they align with his policy objectives.
On January 24, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a “halt” to all foreign aid efforts, except for emergency food assistance, which may apply to regions such as Gaza and Sudan.
