Press Releases
Second Japan-Qatar Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue
January 31, 2023
On January 31, from 6:30 p.m. for about 90 minutes, Foreign Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa held “the Second Japan-Qatar Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue” with H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, during his visit to Japan as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The overview of the dialogue is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi congratulated Qatar on the success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 last year. In response, Minister Mohammed praised the Japan national football team for their achievements in the World Cup.
- The two Ministers expressed their great pleasure in holding the second Japan-Qatar Strategic Dialogue to further develop the comprehensive partnership between the two countries. The Ministers agreed to further strengthen relations not only in the energy sector, but also in a wide range of areas including political, economic and security, as outlined below.
- (1) Politics
- A) The two Ministers confirmed that the two countries would continue bilateral dialogue at various levels and that they would work together to address various issues in the international arena.
- B) The two Ministers exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East including the Gulf and Middle East Peace, and East Asia including China and North Korea. Minister Hayashi expressed his appreciation for Qatar's mediation efforts to stabilize the Middle East region, and the two Ministers confirmed that they would cooperate to resolve issues related to North Korea, including the abductions issue.
- C) Furthermore, the two Ministers exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and concurred to condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and that a change in the status quo by force cannot be tolerated, and confirmed their commitment to a coordinated response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
- (2) Energy and Economy
- A) The two Ministers confirmed that the stable supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to other countries, including Japan, is crucial, and Minister Mohammad stated that Qatar remains committed to the stable supply of LNG to Japan. The two Ministers also confirmed that the two countries would continue to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, including clean energy.
- B) In addition, the two Ministers confirmed to continue the Working Group on Improvement of Business Environment and Investment at the working level, which was recently held, and that discussions will be held to activate investment between the two countries. Furthermore, the two Ministers confirmed that the visa waiver system for the Qatari ordinary passports holders based on their pre-registration will start operating as soon as possible in order to promote economic relations, tourism and other areas. Minister Mohammad expressed that he welcomes this measure, and the two Ministers expressed their hopes that this measure will further expand the people-to-people exchange between Japan and Qatar, which would further strengthen bilateral relations.
- (3) Security
The two Ministers welcomed the launch of the Military-Military (MM) Dialogue to further strengthen cooperation in the field of defense and security, and confirmed that they would also work in coordination with the existing Security Dialogue. The two Ministers also agreed to accelerate coordination towards convening a Security Dialogue between Japan and Qatar.