BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 24. Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman led the delegation of the Republic of Croatia at the International Conference on Mine Action in Ukraine (UMAC2025), held in Tokyo, Trend reports.
The conference brought together representatives of states, international organizations, and experts from the public and private sectors with the aim of strengthening global efforts in humanitarian demining, a key prerequisite for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. By participating in this event, Croatia once again confirmed its steadfast support for Ukraine and shared more than three decades of experience and expertise in demining and post-conflict recovery.
Minister Grlić Radman emphasized that, following its victory in the Homeland War, Croatia has built an effective and modern mine action system, whose greatest value lies in the expertise and experience of highly trained professionals capable of transferring unique national knowledge to countries in need of such assistance.
He highlighted that Croatia, aware of the scale of the threat facing Ukraine, has been providing comprehensive support since the beginning of the Russian aggression, including assistance in various segments of mine action – from humanitarian demining and strengthening institutional capacities to mine risk education and support for affected individuals – with a total value exceeding 13 million euros.
During the conference, Minister Grlić Radman met with the newly appointed Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi. This was his first official bilateral meeting since assuming office, during which the strong partnership and mutual trust between Croatia and Japan were confirmed, along with a shared commitment to promoting global peace, stability, and multilateral cooperation. Minister Grlić Radman was the first interlocutor of the new Japanese foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, following the formation of the new government.
In addition to his meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Minister Grlić Radman held a series of bilateral meetings with international partners, including Oleksii Sobolev, Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, and Pierre Heilbronn, Special Envoy of the President of France for Ukraine. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in humanitarian demining, coordinated support for Ukraine’s recovery, and the promotion of shared humanitarian values.
The minister also met with Dr. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister in the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, with whom he exchanged experiences in mine action and discussed opportunities for presenting Croatian companies to Cambodian partners.
During his stay in Tokyo, the minister visited the exhibition space of Croatian company DOK-ING and its Ukrainian partner A3Tech Ukraine, where globally recognized Croatian innovative demining technology was showcased.
By participating in the conference in Tokyo – following those in Lausanne in 2024 and Zagreb in 2023 – Croatia once again reaffirms its commitment to global efforts for a safer, more resilient, and prosperous Ukraine.
