Kyiv, Japan's JICA sign agreement on $100 mln loan at 1% annual interest

KYIV. May 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide Ukraine with a $100-million loan for 30 years at 1% annual interest and with a 10-year grace period, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said on its website.

The aforementioned loan agreement was signed by Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and JICA President Akihito Tanaka on Monday, the ministry said.

"The low-interest loan of 13 billion yen, which is the first part of the financial assistance agreed by Ukraine and Japan, will help the state budget finance priority costs, above all, support of the most vulnerable groups of Ukraine's population," the ministry's press service quoted Marchenko as saying.

The agreement includes budgetary support to stabilize the situation in Ukraine, to finance priority social, humanitarian and healthcare costs, to provide support to internally displaced persons, etc., it said.