The relations between Qatar and Japan are moving in the right direction. There is huge potential to further widen the growing relations between two countries, said Seiichi Otsuka, the outgoing ambassador of Japan to Qatar.
“We have seen Qatar-Japan bilateral relations steadily developing and growing. The relations have grown not just in the field of energy, but we have diversified our relations,” Otsuka told The Peninsula.
“Both countries have agreed on widening the range of cooperation, but we have to do more. The relations are going forward in right direction,” said Otsuka, talking on the sidelines of his farewell reception hosted by the Embassy of Japan on Wednesday.
The relations between Qatar and Japan are very strong which is evident by the growing trade volume.
At 17.4 percent, the share of Japan was the highest in Qatar’s total export in April-June quarter of this year, according to the Quarterly Bulletin of Foreign Merchandise Trade Statistics for second quarter of 2019. The total export to Japan from Qatar was around QR11.63bn, as per the Planning and Statistics Authority data.
“Qatar is number one trade partner of Japan and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) forms major part of this trade. Qatar is number three crude oil supplier to Japan. We are importing helium and oil products,” he added.
There is immense potential for cooperation between the private sector of both countries.
“There is big potential of widening the range of cooperation between the private sector of both countries, particularly in the field of technology,” he said.
“Qatar is making grand design of smart cities that require most high tech mobility system, for example. I think certain Japanese companies are very capable of providing such high technology for this project,” he added.
He praised the foreign policy of Qatar and said that the country is playing very important role in the region.
“Foreign policies of Qatar and Japan are very identical. We believe that the regional issues should be solved peacefully. We have same agenda. Qatar is playing a very important role in the region,” he added. “Middle East is very critical part of Japan’s diplomacy,” he said.
He said that FIFA World Cup in 2022 will be a big success and Japan can contribute in successful hosting of this mega event by sharing latest technologies.
He added that the movement of bilateral trade in 2019 will depend on the trajectory of world economy.
