TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors during the Third Japan-Qatar Strategic Dialogue in Doha on Tuesday.
According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, the ministers acknowledged increasing collaboration in energy, the economy, defense, international initiatives, and cultural and academic exchanges.
Additionally, they expressed mutual support for their national teams’ participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
During their 100-minute meeting, the ministers underscored the importance of liquefied natural gas in strengthening bilateral relations.
Minister Motegi conveyed appreciation for Qatar’s consistent energy supply, while Minister Mohammed reiterated Qatar’s commitment to ensuring stable energy provision to Japan.
Minister Motegi further expressed appreciation for Qatar’s sustained investments in Japan.
The ministers highlighted ongoing progress in defense cooperation, referencing the initiation of defense consultations in 2023, the first visit by a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel to Qatar in 12 years, and the inaugural visit by the Chief of the Joint Staff. They committed to further strengthening these exchanges.
The ministers agreed to broaden development assistance and humanitarian support by leveraging the respective strengths of both nations.
Qatar was the first country to confirm participation in the forthcoming GREEN×EXPO 2027 in Yokohama, for which Minister Motegi expressed gratitude. He also welcomed ongoing academic exchanges between universities and institutions.
During discussions regarding Gaza, Minister Motegi commended Qatar for its role in facilitating the ceasefire and the release of hostages. He stated that, following his recent visit to Israel and Palestine, Japan intends to actively contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East, including the reconstruction of Gaza.
Minister Mohammed welcomed Japan’s initiatives for regional stability and expressed a desire for continued bilateral cooperation.
The ministers also addressed the situation concerning Iran and their respective policies on North Korea, including nuclear and missile issues, abductions, and recent developments in East Asia. They agreed to maintain close cooperation on these matters, according to the Ministry, which did not provide further details.
Japan, Qatar reaffirm commitment to ongoing bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors
https://arab.news/57hqf
Japan, Qatar reaffirm commitment to ongoing bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors
- The ministers acknowledged increasing collaboration in energy, economy, defense and international initiatives
- Minister MOTEGI further expressed appreciation for Qatar’s sustained investments in Japan
Trump says Iran government change ‘best thing that could happen’
- US president's comments come after he ordered a second aircraft carrier to head to the Middle East
FORT BRAGG, United States: US President Donald Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen,” as he ordered a second aircraft carrier to head to the Middle East.
“Seems like that would be the best thing that could happen,” Trump told reporters at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina when a journalist asked if he wanted “regime change” in Iran.
“For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk,” he told reporters.
Trump declined to say who he would want to take over in Iran from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he added that “there are people.”
He has previously backed off full-throated calls for a change of government in Iran, warning that it could cause chaos, although he has made threats toward Khamenei in the past.
Speaking earlier at the White House, Trump said that the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest warship — would be “leaving very soon” for the Middle East to up the pressure on Iran.
“In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it,” Trump said.
The giant vessel is currently in the Caribbean following the US overthrow of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. Another carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, is one of 12 US ships already in the Middle East.
When Iran began its crackdown on protests last month — which rights groups say killed thousands — Trump initially said that the United States was “locked and loaded” to help demonstrators.
But he has recently focused his military threats on Tehran’s nuclear program, which US forces struck last July during Israel’s unprecedented 12-day war with Iran.
The protests have subsided for now but US-based Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah, urged international intervention to support the Iranian people.
“We are asking for a humanitarian intervention to prevent more innocent lives being killed in the process,” he told the Munich Security Conference.
It followed a call by the opposition leader, who has not returned to his country since before the revolution, for Iranians at home and abroad to continue demonstrations this weekend.
Iran and the United States, who have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after the revolution, held talks on the nuclear issue last week in Oman. No dates have been set for new talks yet.
The West fears the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said Friday that reaching an accord with Iran on inspections of its processing facilities was possible but “terribly difficult.”
Trump said after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week that he wanted to continue talks with Iran, defying pressure from his key ally for a tougher stance.
The Israeli prime minister himself expressed skepticism at the quality of any agreement if it didn’t also cover Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, 7,008 people, mostly protesters, were killed in the recent crackdown, although rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher.
More than 53,000 people have also been arrested, it added.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said “hundreds” of people were facing charges linked to the protests that could see them sentenced to death.
Figures working within the Iranian system have also been arrested, with three politicians detained this week from the so-called reformist wing of Iranian politics supportive of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The three — Azar Mansouri, Javad Emam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh — were released on bail Thursday and Friday, their lawyer Hojjat Kermani told the ISNA news agency.
