From 13 April to 13 October 2025, Ukraine will participate in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. This is one of the most prestigious exhibition events in the world, with more than 160 participating countries and about 28 million visitors expected. This was announced by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during a meeting with Takeshi Iwaya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
“World exhibitions are held every five years. The theme of Expo 2025 will be creating a society of the future for our lives. We decided that despite the war, Ukraine should present its potential at the world’s largest exhibition. For our country, this is a good opportunity to draw the attention of the international community to the issues of restoring and rebuilding Ukraine and investing in our economy. I was pleased to personally thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Takeshi Iwaya, for the opportunity to participate in this event,” Yuliia Svyrydenko said.
Yuliia Svyrydenko also thanked Japan for its assistance. Today, the country is one of the largest donors to Ukraine, having allocated USD 4.2 billion to support the Ukrainian budget in 2024 alone. Yuliia Svyrydenko expressed her hope that Ukraine would remain on Japan’s funding priorities in 2025. The minister also welcomed the assurances of the partners to support Ukraine through the G7 ERA mechanism, which will allow the proceeds from the frozen sovereign assets of Russia to be used to cover the principal amount of the USD 50 billion loan from the G7 countries, interest and other expenses related to loans raised from partners under the initiative.
First Deputy Prime Minister also thanked for the assistance provided by Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The amount of support has already reached over USD 1.5 billion.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya noted that Japan was considering potential opportunities for additional support for Ukraine’s energy sector, continuation of humanitarian projects, such as the construction of shelters in schools or the provision of food for students.
Yuliia Svyrydenko expressed her hope that Japanese companies would participate in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.
The parties also discussed the revision of the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments and the holding of an annual forum on humanitarian demining in Ukraine in Japan in 2025.
“Japan is one of the most active supporters of Ukraine’s efforts in the field of humanitarian demining. During the full-scale invasion, the amount of assistance exceeded USD 70 million, including funds for demining vehicles, personnel transportation, and other equipment. Today, deminers are already actively using this equipment in their work, restoring security to Ukrainian soil. I am grateful to Japan for its invaluable contribution to protecting the lives and health of Ukrainians,” Yuliia Svyrydenko added.
Yuliia Svyrydenko also thanked Japan for its support of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula, in particular point one on radiation safety, and for its participation in the Global Peace Summit. The parties shared their views on achieving a just peace for Ukraine.
Background information
The World Expo is an international exhibition that was first held in 1851 in London. It has become a symbol of industrialisation and an open platform for demonstrating technical and technological advances. The exhibition is held every five years in different countries of the world.
The upcoming World Expo 2025 will be held from 13 April to 13 October 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine will coordinate the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in this event.