OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2012. Ukraine and Japan have signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of post-accident response to emergency situations at nuclear power plants.

The document was signed by Ukrainian Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloga, who is in Tokyo on an official visit to Japan and Foreign Minister of Japan Koichiro Gemba.

For the first time in the world's practice two countries which suffered from the world's largest nuclear power plant accidents, laid the legal foundation for further cooperation to bring together the scientific and technical capacity and resources, as well as the use of knowledge and experience of professionals and experts from both countries in overcoming the consequences of accidents at nuclear power plants.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Koichiro Gemba prized the agreement and expressed hope that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the document soon. In turn, Viktor Baloga, on behalf of the Government invited Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan to visit Ukraine.

In addition, issues of bilateral cooperation in overcoming the consequences of accidents at nuclear power plants were discussed during the meeting of the Minister of Emergencies of Ukraine with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan Takahiro Yokomiti.

Viktor Baloga thanked for the solid support of the deputies of the Japanese Parliament of resolution on the deepening of friendly relations between our two countries, which was taken the day before and said that Ukraine is ready to share experience gained over 26 years of eliminating the consequences of the Chornobyl accident.