Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida embarked Sunday on a four-day trip to the Middle East that will take him to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to boost "resource diplomacy" with the countries in the energy domain.
During his first tour to the Middle East since he took office in October 2021, Kishida aims to ensure a stable supply of energy to resource-poor Japan from the oil-rich nations, while promoting the Asian country's contribution to their decarbonization efforts.
As the Middle East is strategically important for Japan, which relies on imports for more than 90 percent of its energy needs, the Asian nation has long tried to maintain friendly ties with countries in the resource-rich region.
With global energy prices on an upward trend since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it has become increasingly imperative for Japan to secure the procurement of crude oil and liquefied natural gas from the three Middle Eastern nations.
Saudi Arabia and UAE, meanwhile, have been striving to reduce their oil dependency and diversify their economies, given that the price tag of oil may fall in the future amid the trend of decarbonization worldwide.
In an attempt to support the eco-friendly initiatives of the countries and expand business opportunities for Japanese firms such as those in the trading industry, dozens of their executives are accompanying Kishida, government officials said.
Kishida is slated to hold bilateral summits with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, according to the officials.
Japan and Saudi Arabia are set to agree to enhance collaboration in the energy technology field, while Kishida plans to propose the regularization of foreign ministerial talks between Tokyo and the Gulf Cooperation Council, government sources said.
Kishida, who served as foreign minister for around five years through 2017, has been eager to strengthen relations with the six-member league composed of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, the sources said.
Japan and UAE are expected to issue a joint statement on environmental protection as Abu Dhabi is scheduled to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP28, from November.
Kishida is also likely to call on Qatar to continue supplying LNG to Japan in a steady manner as the Middle Eastern country is one of the world's biggest exporters of the material.
Kishida's latest overseas trip is the first tour to the Middle East by a Japanese political leader since January 2020, when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman.
Kishida had considered going to the Middle East in the summer of last year, but had to postpone the trip after he was infected with the novel coronavirus.
