Kishida To Visit Middle East, Discuss Energy Security
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is planning to visit Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries late next month to discuss stabilizing international energy markets.
The visit is likely to take place around the same time as a meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, scheduled to start on August 27 in the northern African country of Tunisia. Japan has led the conference since 1993 and this will be its eighth session.
Prime Minister Kishida plans to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as attending the TICAD meeting.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kishida has been asking Middle Eastern nations for their cooperation to help stabilize the international markets for crude oil, liquefied natural gas and other energy sources. Crude oil prices remain at high levels.
Government officials say that Kishida wants to discuss energy security with the leaders of Middle Eastern nations. The Prime Minister is expected to directly urge those countries to increase crude oil production.