Arab News Japan 

TOKYO: Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Washio Eiichiro, held a working lunch in Tokyo on Dec. 14 with Arab ambassadors including Rachad Bouhlal, ambassador of Morocco and Hasan Zaman of Kuwait, and discussed bilateral relations with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic fighting progress.

The meeting was attended also by ambassadors and representatives residing in Japan for the countries of Ghana, Bngladesh and Turkey, according to the foreign ministry in Tokyo.

State minister Washio highlighted the importance of global health in Japan’s foreign policy in response to the COVID-19 and reiterated Japan’s commitment to work with countries represented at lunch. 

At the meeting, the ambassadors expressed their appreciations for Japan’s cooperation including in the area of global health and expectation to further strengthen bilateral relations with Japan, the ministry said.

Washio and the ambassadors also discussed policy priorities under the Suga administration including striking balance between response measures to COVID-19 and economic growth, promoting digitalization, aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (carbon-neutral) by 2050, and holding the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo. 

Promoting Japanese food exports and hosting Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, was also discussed as part of PM Suga priorities.