Japan-Saudi Arabia Relations
Telephone Talk between Prime Minister Kishida and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
March 17, 2022
On March 17, commencing at 7:45 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a telephone talk with H.R.H. Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The overview of the talk is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida said that he is delighted to speak with Crown Prince Mohammed, following the first one in February this year. Further, he strongly condemned the attack by Houthi militias in Yemen on an oil refinery in Riyadh on March 11, and expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
- Regarding the situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Kishida stated Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is the outrageous action which constitutes a serious violation of international law, pointed out the importance of making efforts in cooperation with the international community, and expressed his intention to strengthen coordination with Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner, as it plays a leading role among Arab and Islamic countries. Both leaders confirmed that they will further continue to coordinate on the situation in Ukraine.
- Both leaders had an intense discussion on countermeasures against oil price increases. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his strong hopes for Saudi Arabia to show leadership in stabilizing the international oil market, and they concurred on deepening the cooperation toward the stabilization of the oil market and carbon neutral era.
- Both leaders exchanged views on the bilateral cooperation including the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030 framework and concurred on further continuing the close cooperation.