Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru and Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) concerning water, electricity, and renewable energy in Tokyo on Thursday.

In addition, the two governments signed an MOC on diplomatic training cooperation and welcomed the signing of memoranda between related organizations of the two countries in the areas of direct investment and international cooperation.

Prime Minister Ishiba noted that the bilateral relationship between the two countries has a long history, dating back to before Kuwait’s independence, and recalled how they have helped each other through historical difficulties, such as the Gulf War and the Great East Japan Earthquake. 

Ishiba recalled that when he sent members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq as then-Director General of the Defense Agency, Kuwait provided the SDF with an operations base. He stated that the two countries place importance on areas such as the rule of law, multilateralism, and humanitarian assistance.

Ishiba added that he hopes to strengthen bilateral relations by upgrading the relationship between the two countries to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”

The Crown Prince mentioned the historical relationship between the two countries and Japan’s support during the Gulf War and stated that he is pleased that the two countries will upgrade their bilateral relations to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.” 

Prime Minister Ishiba expressed his appreciation for the stable supply of crude oil from Kuwait to Japan over the years and expressed his hope that Kuwait would continue to take the lead in stabilizing the world crude oil market.

In response, the Crown Prince stated that Kuwait is committed to the stable supply of crude oil to Japan and to the stabilization of the international crude oil market.

Both mentioned the Kuwaiti Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai expo and expressed their expectations for further people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

In other discussions, they said they will cooperate in the fields of clean energy and decarbonization, in addition to the electricity and desalination sectors to which Japanese companies have been contributing over the years; the confirmed that they will cooperate in the Intergovernmental Negotiations on United Nations Security Council reform; and they looked forward to further cooperation between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council, especially with Kuwait holding the current presidency.

The talks also covered the situation in the Middle East, with Ishiba expressing respect for Kuwait’s role in helping regional peace and stability through its humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Both sides confirmed their commitment to a “two-state solution” for Palestine and the long-term peace and stability of the region.