TOKYO - Japan has decided to commence negotiations for an economic partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in an X post.

The conclusion of the pact with the UAE, coupled with another free trade agreement between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council which will also be negotiated, would "strengthen economic relations between the two countries", Kishida wrote.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)