Japan Ex-PM Kishida, Philippine Pres. Discuss Energy Cooperation

Manila, May 1 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have discussed measures to strengthen energy cooperation between the two countries, at a meeting in Manila. Visiting the Philippines as a special envoy of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Kishida discussed with Marcos on Thursday the impact of Middle East tensions on global energy supply. Kishida handed the president a letter from Takaichi and expressed a wish to further deepen ties between the two Asian countries, as July marks the 70th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations. Marcos said that the Tokyo-led Asia Zero Emission Community initiative, a decarbonization framework involving Japan and Southeast Asian countries, which was launched by Kishida when he was prime minister, is growing in importance. The president expressed a wish to continue close cooperation to address the Middle East tensions. Tokyo and Manila plan to jointly host an AZEC summit in the Philippine capital in November on the sidelines of leaders’ meetings linked to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Kishida visited the Philippines with members of a Japanese lawmaker group promoting the AZEC initiative, for which he serves as supreme adviser. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]