From 5:20 pm on March 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a 25 minute meeting at the Prime Minister's Office with H.R.H. Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who is on an official visit to Japan. An overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe noted that since the visit of H.M. Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain, upon the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bahrain, bilateral relations have been advancing. Mr. Abe added that he wishes to develop multi-layerd relations with Bahrain, a country that will continue to be of strategic importance in its region. In response, H.R.H. Prince Salman said that he also wished to strengthen relations with Japan.
   
   
2. Prime Minister Abe welcomed the reopening of the National Dialogue in Bahrain, expecting that the Dialogue would lead to the development of reform in Bahrain. Mr. Abe said the advanced technology of Japanese companies for the oil refinery expansion project currently being discussed in Bahrain, and an earth observation satellite project, while requesting the revision and relaxation of import restrictions on Japanese food products in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In response, H.R.H. Prince Salman noted the fact that there were four intergovernmental memoranda and nine private sector memoranda signed on that day, highly commended the technology of Japan for the oil and gas field, and stated his expectations that Japan's technology would be used more with the help of so-called "Abenomics."
   
   
3. Prime Minister Abe said that he wishes to have support of Bahrain, which chairs the GCC this year, so as to the fundamentally strengthen Japan-GCC dialogue and cooperation. H.R.H. Prince Salman stated that as the GCC Chair, Bahrain hopes to advance strategic dialogue with Japan.
   
   
4. Furthermore, H.R.H. Prince Salman said that he is proud of the activities of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) in Bahrain. He stated his expectations that the role of the Self-Defense Forces would be expanded and that cooperation with Bahrain would be strengthened. Prime Minister Abe expressed his gratitude for the support given to the JMSDF.