Minister Grlić Radman in Tokyo: Croatia shares its demining expertise, strengthens international cooperation for Ukraine’s reconstruction

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman led the delegation of the Republic of Croatia at the Ukraine Mine Action Conference (UMAC2025), held in Tokyo on Wednesday, 22 October 2025.

The conference brought together representatives of governments, international organizations, and experts from the public and private sectors, with the aim of enhancing global efforts in humanitarian demining as a key precondition for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. By taking part in this event, Croatia once again reaffirmed its steadfast support for Ukraine and shared more than three decades of experience and expertise in the fields of demining and post-war recovery.

Grlić Radman underlined that, following victory in the Homeland War, Croatia built an effective and modern mine action system, whose greatest strength lies in the professionalism and experience of highly trained experts capable of transferring unique national knowledge to countries in need of such assistance.

He emphasized that Croatia, fully aware of the scale of the threat Ukraine faces, has since the beginning of the Russian aggression provided comprehensive support, including assistance in various segments of mine action - from humanitarian demining and institutional capacity building to mine-risk education and victim assistance - totalling more than 13 million euros.

On the margins of the conference, Grlić Radman met with the newly appointed Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi. This was Motegi's first official bilateral meeting since assuming office, during which both sides reaffirmed the strong partnership and mutual trust between Croatia and Japan, as well as their shared commitment to promoting global peace, stability, and multilateral cooperation. Grlić Radman was the first foreign counterpart to meet Japan's new foreign minister following the formation of the new government.

In addition to his Japanese counterpart, 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, coordinating support for Ukraine's reconstruction, and advancing 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 the field of mine action and discussed opportunities to introduce Croatian companies to Cambodian partners.

During his stay in Tokyo, Grlić Radman visited the exhibition space of the Croatian company DOK-ING and its Ukrainian partner A3Tech Ukraine, where globally recognized Croatian innovative demining technology was presented.

By participating in the Tokyo conference - following those held in Lausanne in 2024 and Zagreb in 2023 - Croatia once again demonstrates its commitment to global efforts aimed at building a safer, more resilient, and more prosperous Ukraine.

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