DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — 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.”
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.
