Pak Sahafat – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Doha on Tuesday in continuation of efforts to strengthen relations with Middle East countries, including Qatar.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency, citing the Kyodo base, this trip was made with the aim of sustainable supply of fossil fuel for the Asian country. In Doha, after a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Kishida met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, which was aimed at strengthening “resource diplomacy” with the Middle East region.
The Middle East is strategically important for Japan, which supplies more than 90% of its energy needs from this region. In the past years, Japan has always tried to maintain friendly relations with countries in the region rich in energy resources, including the Middle East region.
With global energy prices destabilizing since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Japan has become more eager to take steps to steadily procure crude oil and liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, analysts said.
Meanwhile, many countries in the Middle East are trying to reduce their dependence on oil, given that the value of fossil fuels may decline in the future amid the global decarbonization process.
According to this report, this is the first time a Japanese prime minister has visited the Middle East after three years.
According to analysts, China is currently exerting its influence in the Middle East by taking measures such as mediation to re-establish diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
During the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and Tokyo signed 26 agreements and memorandums in various fields of renewable energy, space, technology and artificial intelligence.
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These agreements were signed on the sidelines of the visit of the Japanese economic and political delegation headed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Saudi Arabia.
Khaled al-Falih, Minister of Investments of Saudi Arabia, said in the press conference held with the Japanese delegation: “Memorandums of understanding and signed contracts will help strengthen economic and commercial relations between the two countries and expand the circle of commercial cooperation between Tokyo and Riyadh.”
Saudi Arabia expanded its economic and investment relations with foreign countries as part of Vision 2030, which aims to develop an oil-free economy, which is currently Saudi Arabia’s largest source of income.
The Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia stated that Riyadh is the third trading partner of Japan and said that the agreements with Japan will bring the economic partnership to new levels in the future.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, for his part, considered his visit to Saudi Arabia to strengthen strategic relations with this country and emphasized that Riyadh is an important strategic partner for Tokyo.
Stating that 110 Japanese companies are operating in Saudi Arabia, he added: We will cooperate with Saudi Arabia to achieve the goals of the 2030 vision.
Sunday’s visit by Fumio Kishida is the first visit by a Japanese political leader to the Middle East since January 2020. At that time, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman.
The Prime Minister of Japan wanted to visit the Middle East last summer, but he had to postpone this trip due to the corona virus.
The Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to the UAE came after his one-day visit to Saudi Arabia, during which Riyadh announced that it is committed to supplying oil to Japan and will continue to cooperate with Tokyo in the field of clean hydrogen, ammonia and recycled carbon fuels.
Kishida wrote in a note published by the UAE’s state-run news agency WAM: “Safe and secure energy supplies from the UAE have been a supporter of Japan’s economic growth for years.”