Japan-Saudi Arabia ties: a green-energy gambit or was ‘everything about China’?

Japan has agreed to give Saudi Arabia’s solar-power capabilities a technological boost as the East Asian nation seeks to secure stable energy supplies

It comes as Tokyo eyes Beijing’s growing reach in the Middle East warily. But analysts say PM Kishida wields ‘relatively little influence’ over Riyadh

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before their talks in Jeddah on Sunday. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 9:30am, 18 Jul 2023Updated: 1:24pm, 18 Jul 2023

Japan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to strengthen decarbonisation and clean energy collaboration after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Sunday, amid what analysts say are deepening concerns in Tokyo about China’s efforts to extend its diplomatic and military reach in the region.

“Everything that has gone on in Saudi Arabia is about China, just as Kishida’s recent visit to the Nato summit in Vilnius was designed to rally support on China,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.

The two leaders signed 26 memorandums of cooperation on Sunday. These largely involved trade, with many focused on energy as Japan works to secure stable supplies – and Saudi Arabia tries to diversify away from fossil fuels.

Japan imports more than 95 per cent of its oil from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia accounting for about one-third of that. The importance of stable supplies of oil – and at prices that do not fluctuate wildly – has been underlined by the war in Ukraine.

Kishida shakes hands with Jasem al-Budaiwi, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council of energy-exporting Arab monarchies, before their talks in Jeddah at the weekend. Photo: Kyodo

Tokyo also agreed to step up the delivery of green-energy technology to boost Saudi Arabia’s solar-power capabilities as Riyadh looks to move away from an economy that relies almost exclusively on fossil fuels.

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