Minister Akazawa Visits the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

1. Meeting with H.H. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (May 4)

During the meeting, Minister Akazawa presented a personal letter from Prime Minister Takaichi addressed to H.R.H. Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The two ministers agreed on a fundamental direction for further enhancing cooperation toward strengthening energy resilience.

2. Meeting with H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Special Envoy of the United Arab Emirates to Japan (May 5)

During the May 5^th meeting, Minister Akazawa presented a personal letter from Prime Minister Takaichi addressed to H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Furthermore, Minister Akazawa, based on the personal letter, proposed the following: (1) expansion of the stable supply of crude oil; (2) early refilling of the joint oil storage of oil-producing countries; (3) increase of crude oil stockpiles in Japan, (4) expansion of crude oil stockpiles in Asian countries based on “POWERR Asia;” and (5) cooperation regarding the recovery and expansion of crude oil production and transportation capacity and the construction of alternative routes. The two ministers agreed to move forward with discussions to concretize all proposals in a positive manner and to further advance cooperation toward strengthening energy resilience.

Divisions in Charge

• Middle East and Africa Division, Trade Policy Bureau

• International Affairs Division, Commissioner’s Secretariat, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy

• International Strategy on Energy Resources Office, Natural Resources and Fuel Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy