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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Tokyo - Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia Says There Is a Lack of Refining Capacity in Market, Not Oil

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. (SPA)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed on Tuesday the Kingdom's commitment to the stability of energy markets.

The Minister said Saudi Arabia is focused on maintaining the stability of oil markets through OPEC+, asserting that dialogue within the group is very active and responds to the requirements of the oil markets.

There is no oil shortage in the market but a lack of refining capacity, he told reporters in Tokyo.

"As of today, we don't see a lack of oil in the market. There is a lack of refining capacity, which is also an issue, so we need to invest more in refining capacity," he said.

The minister is on an official visit to Japan, where he met Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi.

They discussed bilateral relations between their countries, ways to develop and enhance them, and prospects for cooperation under Saudi Vision 2030.

They also tackled several regional and international issues of common interest.

At a roundtable organized by Arab News Japan at the Foreign Correspondents Club, Prince Faisal spoke about boosting Saudi-Japanese relations, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The global pandemic has affected our partnership with Japan to a certain extent, and one of the reasons I am here is to make sure we can maintain the momentum we had in our relations with Japan before the pandemic."

"Even before this visit, we worked with our colleagues in the Japanese government to ensure that we continue to work on all the agenda items that we have been working on for the past several years, and today we are focused on the future," he said.

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