President Trump is set to discuss energy cooperation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe when they meet on Friday, just days before the United States’ May 1 deadline for ending purchases of oil from Iran.
The meeting comes one day after a top Japanese oil industry official said the country is ready to comply with the U.S. ban on oil imports from Iran.
Petroleum Association of Japan President Takashi Tsukioka told reporters that the country’s main refiners have already secured alternative suppliers to meet the May 1 deadline imposed by Washington earlier this week.
Tsukioka said he expects oil supplies to remain stable even with sanctions, underscoring U.S. efforts to collaborate with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to ensure stability and avoid price spikes.
Japan had received a six-month waiver from the Trump administration to continue to import Iranian crude oil after sanctions were reimposed late last year.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would no longer be granting extensions of those waivers.
A White House senior official told reporters Thursday evening that “energy cooperation” will be discussed at Friday’s meeting “in realizing their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific” region.
“Remember that the United States and Japanese economies account for approximately 30 percent or so, or roughly a third, of global GDP, which means that a strong bilateral relationship is key for global peace, stability, and prosperity,” the senior official said.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss priorities for the upcoming meeting of the Group of 20 industrial nations, or G-20, in Osaka, Japan, in June.
