RIYADH — Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his five-day Gulf tour, has called for de-escalation of tension in the region following the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. "As the situation in the Middle East becomes increasingly tense, I held talks with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and with Crown Prince Muhammad. We agreed on the recognition that in order to avoid the situation deteriorating further all parties involved should make every possible diplomatic effort," his office tweeted on Monday. "I also received their full understanding and support regarding the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to ensure the safety of vessels related to Japan," it added. Earlier on Sunday, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Masato Ohtaka highlighted the importance of the Japanese premiere's visit in enhancing and developing bilateral relations between the two friendly countries in a press conference in Riyadh. He said that Japan commends the efforts made by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, in strengthening bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan through the Saudi-Japanese vision 2030. He also stressed his country's support for the Kingdom to make its presidency of the G20 successful. Top Japanese official affirmed his country's keenness to strengthen relations with the Kingdom for its pivotal role in the region, and conveyed its thanks for the continuous and stable flow of oil to Tokyo. He stressed the importance of making diplomatic efforts and strengthening the language of dialogue among the parties to reduce the escalation and the tension in the Middle East region, stressing that his country believes that any military confrontation in the region will have great repercussions on peace and stability not only in the Middle East region but also on the entire world. He pointed out that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Japan's approval to send the Self-Defense Force of a ship to gather information and guarantee the protection and safety of maritime navigation in the region. The spokesman of the Japanese Foreign Ministry reviewed during the conference the volume of investments between the Kingdom and Japan, which is one of the axes of the Saudi-Japanese vision 2030, which began in 2016 and includes 69 axes in the fields of cooperation between the two friendly countries, noting that the investments and contracts between the two countries in recent years have exceed more than $ 30 billion.
