Diana Farah Dubai

Former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had an eventful year, and kicked it off with a trip to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman.

In January, Abe arrived in Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday expressed full support for Japan’s dispatch of a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer and patrol aircraft to the Middle East.

Abe also got the full support from the Crown Prince for the MSDF mission, which is aimed at gathering information to ensure safe navigation by ships related to Japan in the region.

Two P-3C patrol planes of the MSDF set out on their mission in January and the MSDF’s Takanami destroyer left for the Middle East on Feb. 2.

The two leaders agreed then to maintain efforts that would ensure stability and peace in the region.

During his trip, the former Japanese Prime Minister’s tour of AlUla cast a spotlight on the ancient Nabataean site. It was his last stop before continuing to the UAE and Oman.

Abe also met with Saudi’s King Salman in Riyadh and confirmed their cooperation toward the successes of the Group of 20 meetings to be hosted by Saudi Arabia this. In their 40-minute talk, the king expressed expectations that his country and Japan will deepen their strategic partnership in various fields, not only in the area of energy.

In the UAE, by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received Abe and the two counterparts discussed efforts to boost diplomatic ties in order to ease tensions in the region.

The two also witnessed the signing of the UAE-Japan Strategic Energy Cooperation Agreement between the Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council.

The agreement was represented presented by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of Japan, for the storage of over 8 million barrels of crude oil at storage facilities in Japan, reported WAM.

Under the terms of the new agreement, which has an initial three-year duration, ADNOC will store crude oil at storage facilities in Japan which may be traded to customers, meanwhile ensuring that certain quantities of crude oil are available in the event of an oil shortage event in Japan.

Japan is ADNOC’s largest international importer of oil and gas products with approximately 25 percent of its crude oil imported from the UAE.

The last leg of Abe’s Arab tour was in Oman, where the former PM met with Haitham bin Tareq, who took office following the death of long-serving Sultan Qaboos.

Abe offered his condolences for the death of the Sultan. They also agreed to cooperate for regional stability and to develop their bilateral relations, said a Japanese foreign ministry statement.

Abe filed his unexpected resignation in late august, citing a chronic illness. The ex-PM was known for his personal relations with foreign leaders around the world and how he maintained ties with the likes of Saudi’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, as well as US President Donald Trump.

All eyes are now on newly elected Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his cabinet’s foreign policy as he embarked on his first foreign trip to Vietnam and Indonesia earlier this week.