The ceremony was opened by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine, Mr. Shigeki Sumi. Representatives of the diplomatic corps, UN agencies in Ukraine, Japanese business community, Ukraine-Japan Cultural Centre as well as other cultural centres in Ukraine participated in the event.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya and Mr. Shigeki Sumi underscored the important contribution of Japan to UN activities over the past 60 years and expressed the hope that the existing productive and beneficial partnership between Ukraine and Japan in the UN will be further enhanced during the non-permanent membership of both countries in the UN Security Council.

The event was organized in the context of the 60th Anniversary of Japan’s membership in the UN and the Japanese presidency of the UN Security Council during the month of July 2016.