Japan Aims to Ensure Safe Passage thru 2 Key Middle East Straits

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan is stepping up diplomatic efforts to ensure free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, both critical transport waterways for Middle East crude oil.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi visited Saudi Arabia and Oman, both key players in the region, for six days through Saturday mainly for talks with his counterparts from the two nations.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has also held talks with some Middle East leaders over the phone for cooperation.

Still, some in the Takaichi administration are calling for her face-to-face meetings with heads of Middle East nations to help achieve a breakthrough at a time when the course of U.S.-Iran negotiations for ending their conflict remains unpredictable.

At a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Thursday, Motegi stressed that Japan is ready to play an active role in the Middle East nation's ongoing desalination project.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]