Japan-Bahrain Summit Meeting

On September 28, commencing at 3:55 p.m. for approximately 10 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with H.R.H. Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The overview is as follows.

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude for the visit to Japan to attend the State Funeral for Former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo. In response, H.R.H. Prince Salman expressed his heartfelt condolences on the demise of Former Prime Minister Abe and expressed his deepest appreciation for Former Prime Minister Abe's contributions to the development of bilateral relationship.

2. Prime Minister Kishida stated that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bahrain, and that he would like to further strengthen bilateral relations in various fields, including politics, economy and business, which have been built over the past 50 years. H.R.H. Prince Salman stated that he would like to further develop the friendly relationship between Japan and Bahrain.

3. The two leaders noted the upcoming resumption of visa-free travel from Bahrain to Japan, which had been temporarily suspended due to the spread of the COVID-19, and confirmed the early introduction of visa waiver measures for Bahraini diplomatic and official passport holders.

4. Furthermore, the two leaders exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and confirmed that it is essential for the international community to cooperate to ensure that Russia ends its aggression in Ukraine, and that they will continue to work closely together.