PM KISHIDA’SMIDDLE EAST VISITTO STRENGTHEN TIES WITH THE REGION
AN EXCERPTJULY 18, 2023
Full Text: https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/statement/202307/0718kaiken.html

From July 16 to 18, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, andQatar on his first trip to the Gulf region since taking office. He held meetings with the leaders of thesecountries and discussed a wide range of topics, such as regional and international affairs, including thesituation in Ukraine, as well as bilateral relations. PM Kishida was accompanied on this visit by an economic
mission to expand business opportunities for Japanese enterprises.
As I wrap up my visit to the Middle East, I will make afew remarks.
This time, I have visited three important partnercountries in the Gulf region: Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. This is my first visit tothe Gulf region since I visited Qatar as Foreign Ministerin 2015 and my first since taking office as Prime Minister.
I sincerely appreciate the heartwarming welcome
extended by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed binSalman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime
Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Highness
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of theUnited Arab Emirates and His Highness Sheikh Tamim
Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, as wellas government officials and citizens of the three countries,
on this rare opportunity.
At the G7 Hiroshima Summit, we confirmed theimportance of maintaining a free and open international
order based on the rule of law with the G7 and ourinternational partner countries including those belonging
to the so-called Global South. Last week once again,
we confirmed this recognition with the EU (EuropeanUnion), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)and their member countries and partner countries.
And this time around, we were able to firmly confirm
this fundamental principle with the leaders of the Gulfcountries.
Regarding the question of how we should deal with

From left: Prime Minister Kishida receiving greetings from His RoyalHighness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown
Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; H.H. Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates;
H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar.

issues in the energy sector, which is at the core of therelationship between Japan and the Middle East, we wereable to deepen our discussions from a global perspective,at a time when Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has
destabilized the global energy supply.
Furthermore, all of the three countries I visited thistime have a strong desire to break with their current stateof economy that relies on oil and gas exports for morethan half of their national revenue, transform themselves
into decarbonized energy exporters, and diversify theireconomies and industries. Combining the strengths of
the Gulf countries with that of Japan to transform theMiddle East oil-producing countries into global green
energy hubs to export decarbonized energy and criticalminerals, as well as ensuring that many countries in Asia
and Africa that face the dilemma between economic
growth and decarbonization will have various paths
to decarbonization to choose from, will make a highlymeaningful contribution to world peace and prosperity.
For the first time under my administration, I wasaccompanied by an economic mission during the trip.
CEOs and other executives of a total of more than 100
Japanese companies, as well as the heads of governmentaffiliated organizations such as JBIC ( Japan Bank forInternational Cooperation) and NEXI (Nippon Exportand Investment Insurance), had direct dialogue withthe leaders and corporate executives of the three Gulf
countries, laying the foundation for cooperation in variousareas. Such public-private partnerships involving top
executives and strengthening channels between privatesectors on both sides were also important objectives ofthis trip.
The major objectives I have just mentioned were largely
achieved thanks to the enthusiasm and cooperation fromthe people of the three countries I visited, and I will now
focus on the following four points with regards to thespecific outcome of the visit.
Firstly, regarding the energy sector, we concurred in thedecision to cooperate in promoting green transformation.
In talks with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which chairs
this year’s COP28 (28th session of the Conference of theParties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change), I presented my vision of making theMiddle East region a global supply hub of clean energy andcritical minerals through Japan’s cooperation, to which
they agreed. We also received very positive proposals fromboth countries on how to advance concrete cooperation. Inorder to realize this vision, we will strengthen cooperationin the production of hydrogen and ammonia as well as
the practical application and spread of decarbonization
technologies.
We plan to deepen our cooperation not just in energy
sources, but also in research and development of materials
that do not emit carbon dioxide during the manufacturing
process, such as green steel. I proposed the “Global GreenJourney” concept, intended to lay out a big picture fora realistic energy transition, on top of the cooperation I
have just mentioned, which was also concurred.
Following talks with the UAE, we issued the JapanUnited Arab Emirates Leaders’ Joint Statement on
Climate Action. We will strengthen cooperation on
decarbonization and other related areas and jointly leadthe efforts of the international community toward thesuccess of COP28.
The second outcome was Japan’s demonstration ofits strong commitment to the economic and industrial
diversification of the three Gulf countries. A total ofseven bilateral cooperation documents were signed in
the areas of advanced technology, semiconductors, space,healthcare, education, agriculture and tourism.
Our cooperation is not limited to inter-governmental
initiatives. More than 50 Memorandums of Cooperation

Prime Minister Kishida attended the Japan-Saudi Arabia Business Roundtable Meeting. Participants from approximately 40 Japanese companies andorganizations accompanying the prime minister for the economic mission also attended the meeting.

were signed between Japanese companies and those of
the three Gulf countries, including one between a Saudi
power company and Toray regarding joint research on aseawater desalination plant, and another between a UAE
company and Fujifilm regarding a sales and maintenancecontract for medical software.
Accelerating innovation through partnerships withstart-ups is also important in the area of cutting-edge
sectors such as decarbonization. In talks with the UAE
in preparation of COP28, I proposed the Japan-UAE
Innovation Partnership, which was concurred by theUAE side. Regarding the FTA (Free Trade Agreement)
between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC), for which the business community had greatexpectations, GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi
and I coincided to resume negotiations in 2024.
Taking this opportunity, Japan will strongly support thepromotion of green transformation in the Gulf countries
and reform efforts toward industrial diversification, while
also seeking the expansion of business opportunities forJapanese companies as well as investment in Japan.

The third outcome is the strengthened relations onthe security front. Saudi Arabia is the only Arab country
that is a member of the G20. The UAE has been a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council since2022 and is serving the same term as Japan. Qatar has

In Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Kishida inspected a buggy equipped with ahydrogen engine for motorcycles. He confirmed with the countries he visitedthat Japan will actively support their industrial diversification including
decarbonization.

increased its international presence through its recent
diplomatic efforts. Together with these Gulf countries,
which are becoming increasingly influential in termsof both politics and economy, we coincided to increase
opportunities for dialogue on the diplomatic anddefense fronts and to further deepen cooperation in theinternational arena.
Furthermore, in addition to concurring on holding
foreign ministers’ meetings with the GCC on a regularbasis, I also held a meeting with Secretary General Hissein
Brahim Taha of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation(OIC). The OIC, with its membership of 57 Islamic
countries and regions, plays an active role in eliminating
violent extremism and has a great influence on stabilizingthe Middle East region. I will continue to hold dialogues
and work closely with these regional organizations.
The fourth and last outcome is the strengthened
exchange of soft power. While visiting various countries
around the world, I witnessed first-hand how the ties
between people and cultures strengthen the ties between
countries. The leaders of the three Gulf countries
and I shared the view that we will aim to significantly
increase the number of international students coming
to Japan from these countries, which had decreased dueto the COVID-19 pandemic, while further deepening
exchanges in areas of the so-called soft power, such as
culture, sports, education and science.
Promoting multilayered cooperation in a wide range ofareas, including energy, multilateral economic relations,security and soft power exchanges. Having the common
goal of maintaining a free and open international order
based on the rule of law as its base. It was very meaningfulPrime Minister Kishidaattended the Japan-UAE
Business Forum and statedthat Japan will actively
support the promotion ofinvestment between thetwo countries.

Top and right: One of the participants of theeconomic mission was Alhytec Inc., an environmental
venture that has created an innovative method forusing waste aluminum chips to produce hydrogen.
Bottom: Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical GroupCorporation, Inpex Corporation and Abu Dhabi
Future Energy Company, Masdar, announced at theJapan-UAE Business Forum that they had agreed toconduct a joint feasibility study for a carbon recycling
chemicals project, including production of theworld’s first commercial-scale polypropylene from
CO2 and green hydrogen. EPA=JIJI

that I was able to confirm these principles during the visit,
also in terms of carrying on and spreading the fruitful
discussions held at the G7 Hiroshima Summit.
Even after autumn, we will have a series of opportunities
to engage in dialogue with international partners andconfirm our solidarity, such as the G20 New Delhi
Summit, the United Nations General Assembly, theAPEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit,
and the Japan-ASEAN (Association of Southeast AsianNations) Special Summit Meeting. As G7 Chair, Japan
will share the outcome of the G7 Hiroshima Summit withcountries around the world and lead the international
community over a one-year period. I will firmly continue
what I have done during my visit to the Middle East at
future diplomatic occasions, and will steadily transform
such efforts into the security and prosperity of Japanand the stability and prosperity of the international
community.
Thank you very much.

The above text was republished from the website of the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan:
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/statement/202307/0718kaiken.html