Amin Abbas

DUBAI: A press briefing was conducted in honor Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his visit to the UAE on March 20. Tsukamoto Yasuhiro, Assistant Press Secretary/Director, International Press Division, debriefed the press on all matters pertaining to the Foreign Minister’s visit to the country.

Yasuhiro started the online briefing with congratulating for the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between UAE & Japan, next he spoked international issues such as the war in Ukraine & Energy security.   

He mentioned that Hayashi met with the UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber on Sunday morning, where they discussed the situation in Ukraine and the need for the stabilization of energy sources.

The foreign minister expressed his gratitude for the stable supply of oil from the UAE and the participation of the Japanese companies in projects of crude oil development and his concern about the pricing of oil due to the current situation of Ukraine and as a major member of OPEC +, minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that he would like from UAE to contribute in the stabilization of global oil market in supplying oil & production stability. In response, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber stated that Japan & UAE have strong strategic partnership and express strong desire to support Japan including supporting the stabilization of crude oil market contributing the efforts of collaborations between two countries.

Hayashi welcomed UAE’s leadership for decarbonization & zero emission policy efforts as well hydrogen & ammonia energy collaborations with Japanese companies. Both ministers agreed to work closely on efforts for decarbonization.

According to Yasuhiro, Hayashi visited Expo 2020 Dubai then had a meeting and dinner with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the minister for foreign affairs and international cooperation.

Firstly, minister Hayashi congratulated of the success of Expo 2020 Dubai and stated that he would like furthermore on the collaborations in further fields with the UAE. In response, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan expressed his gratitude for Japan’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai and he delighted for collaborations with Japan on renewable energy, infrastructure & space fields in addition to traditional energy field to strength the relationships between the two countries.

Secondly, Hayashi explained that Japan stands for Ukraine and its sanctions to Russia and both foreign ministers exchange their viewpoints on this matter and both ministers confirmed to defend the foundation of the international order and they will continue the cross collaboration between the two countries as well in the international floor.

Hayashi also expressed his gratitude for the stable supply of oil from the UAE and the participation of the Japanese companies in projects of crude oil development and his concern about the pricing of oil due to the current situation of Ukraine and he would like from UAE to contribute in the stabilization of global oil market in supplying oil & production stability. In response, Al-Nahyan stated that Japan & UAE have strong strategic partnership and express strong desire to support Japan including supporting the stabilization of crude oil market contributing the efforts of collaborations between two countries.

The foreign minister also condemned the attack against UAE, which was claimed by the Houthis and he expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and praying swift recovery for those who got injured by this indecent. Also, the two foreign ministers confirmed that they will continue to exchange their views of the situation in the Middle East including Iran and the situation in East Asia including China & North Korea.