Doha, 18 July 2023 (QT)

By Ashraf Siddiqui

Four Memorandums of Cooperation (MoCs) between Qatar and Japan are expected to be announced during the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Qatar on Tuesday, according to reliable sources.
Prime Minister Kishida is expected to arrive in Doha today from the United Arab Emirates as part of his official tour to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Qatar is the fourth largest crude oil supplier
to Japan and the seventh largest LNG supplier as per 2022 figures.

According to the source, Prime Minister Kishida will be heading an over 40-member delegation, mainly businessmen.

Both Qatar and Japan enjoy close bilateral relations for more than 50 years. Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met in Tokyo on January 31 this year, where they said the stable supply of LNG from Qatar to other countries, including Japan, was crucial.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida arrived in Jeddah on Sunday where he met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister HH Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. Both the leaders exchanged talks on
bilateral relations mainly on furthering cooperation in the trade, investment, economic and cultural sectors.

Saudi Arabia supplies 40 per cent of Japan’s crude oil and actively invests in Japan in high-tech and other sectors.

Prime Minister Kishida later left for the United Arab Emirates on Monday and met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative (CSPI), both countries held their discussions, mainly on cooperation in the agreement concerning the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology. Japan imports just under 40 per cent of its crude oil from the UAE.