Japan, Pakistan step up joint Middle East de-escalation drive
After separate calls with Pakistan and Vietnam, Takaichi urged Hormuz stability, backed dialogue and stressed regional energy and economic security.
- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif agreed in a phone call to work together to ease tensions in the Middle East.
- A key focus of their joint effort is the urgent need to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz and ensure the safety of navigation.
- The cooperation follows failed US-Iran peace talks mediated by Pakistan, with Japan expressing support for Pakistan's diplomatic efforts.
- Japan's prime minister stated she is also continuing her own diplomatic outreach to leaders in both the United States and Iran.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif, agreed Monday (April 13) to work together to ease tensions in the Middle East at an early date.
In their 15-minute telephone conversation, held after the United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal in negotiations mediated by Pakistan, Takaichi stressed that "restoring the stabilisation of the Strait of Hormuz...is urgently needed."
Sharif responded that his country seeks to continue working with Japan toward an early de-escalation of the situation and to ensure the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Takaichi expressed appreciation and support for Sharif and other Pakistani officials' efforts to mediate US-Iranian talks, and said that "a final agreement should be reached promptly through dialogue."
The Japanese prime minister explained that she has been in contact with the leaders of both the United States and Iran, and that she intends to continue diplomatic efforts.
Also on Monday, Takaichi held telephone talks with Vietnamese President To Lam and reaffirmed their countries' cooperation in bolstering the energy resilience of the entire Asian region.
"Vietnam has the world's sixth-largest rare earth reserves, and cooperation is extremely important for economic security," Takaichi told reporters.
The two Asian leaders also discussed the situation in the South China Sea, where China is ramping up coercive activities, North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs, and the abduction of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang decades ago.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
