On June 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with CEO of Rakuten Hiroshi Mikitani. In Ukraine, it is best known as the owner of Viber.
The parties discussed plans to increase the presence of Rakuten in Ukraine, in particular the expansion of the office in Odesa and the opening of a new office in Kyiv.
Hiroshi Mikitani stated that Ukraine was a high-priority market for Rakuten. He is also willing to support the idea of increasing the number of investment projects by Japan.
He also praised Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "A state in a smartphone" initiative and expressed willingness to cooperate in this project, as Viber is an integral part of almost every Ukrainian's smartphone.
Following the meeting, the Head of State invited Hiroshi Mikitani to join the National Investment Council chaired by recently appointed IT entrepreneur David Arakhamia.