DUBAI – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the United Arab Emirates on Monday as part of a swing through the Arab Gulf states focused on energy and commerce.
He met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the president of the UAE, which will be hosting the COP28 U.N. climate summit later this year. A joint statement said they were committed to “enhancing cooperation on climate ambition, decarbonization, and clean energy.”
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Kishida visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two launched a joint initiative aimed at promoting clean energy. He will visit gas-rich Qatar on Tuesday.
Japan is the fifth-largest oil consumer in the world and relies on imports to meet around 97% of its demand. It imports more than 75% of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Japan and the UAE have pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and Saudi Arabia aims to do so by 2060. It's unclear how the two Gulf nations — which rely on massive oil exports — will reach those goals.