TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday met with Sultan Al-Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology who is visiting Japan to participate in the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo. Minister Jaber explained the status of preparations for COP28, which will take place in Dubai in late November and early December. Hayashi expressed his congratulations on Minister Jaber’s appointment as the COP28 President-Designate and stated that Japan is fully committed to contributing fully to the negotiations for achieving a satisfactory outcome from COP28. Hayashi added that Japan attaches great importance to its strategic partnership with the UAE and looks forward to further cooperation in various fields. The two ministers confirmed that they will continue to work together under the Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership Initiative and exchanged views on cooperation in the fields of defense and on the situation in Ukraine. Minister Jaber expressed his hopes for further strengthening bilateral relations with Japan. • This story originally appeared on Arab News Japan