Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio held a summit meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Dubai on Friday and thanked him for Qatar’s assistance in getting hostages released from the Gaza Strip.

Kishida, who is in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate conference, said he was delighted to be able to meet Emir Tamim again and expressed his deep appreciation for Qatar’s mediation efforts on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which led to a pause in the fighting and the release of hostages.

In response, Emir Tamim explained Qatar’s ongoing diplomatic efforts regarding the release of hostages and efforts to halt the fighting.

According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Kishida said that in addition to an initial Emergency Grant Aid of $10 million, Japan is working to provide approximately $65 million in additional humanitarian aid to Palestine to improve the humanitarian situation there. 

Kishida lamented the resumption of fighting in Gaza and said itis important to return to the ceasefire agreement and reduce tensions as soon as possible.

The two leaders confirmed they will continue to work together to improve the humanitarian situation and will work closely to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, not only in the energy sector, but also in other areas such as politics, economics, and security.