Press Releases
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida Receives a Courtesy Call from Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates
July 20, 2017
- On July 20 from 4:25 p.m. for approximately 50 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, received a courtesy call from H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company(ADNOC) upon his visit. The overview is as follows.
- At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Kishida welcomed Minister Al Jaber’s visit to Japan and praised the frequent high-level exchanges between the two countries in recent years. He also said that Japan values an important relationship with UAE as a strategic partner for Japan, which holds the largest Japanese community in the region. Minister Al Jaber responded that he would work to further strengthen the strategic partnership with Japan.
- In the meeting, Minister Al Jaber explained the UAE’s position on the situation regarding Qatar. Minister Kishida said that maintaining the unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is vital for peace and stability in the Middle East. He also stressed that Japan, with its friendly relationships with all GCC countries, supports on-going mediation efforts by the State of Kuwait, and that it is important that the issue will be solved without delay by dialogue. Noting that many Japanese companies are operating in the Gulf region including the UAE, Minister Kishida requested special attention for them so that their operations will not be affected by the situation. Minister Al Jaber said that he would give considerations appropriately to business activities of the Japanese companies.
- With regards to the bilateral investment agreement that was agreed in principle on the occasion of the visit by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE on April this year, Minister Kishida expressed his deep appreciation for the cooperation and efforts by Minister Al Jaber and hoped that investment between two countries will be further promoted through signing the agreement at the earliest possible timing.