Qatar Petroleum president and CEO, and chairman of Qatargas, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi began an official visit to Tokyo to hold talks with senior executives of major Japanese energy companies. 
Al-Kaabi, who is accompanied by senior QP and QG officials, will hold high level meetings and discussions with chairmen, presidents, and senior executives of a number of Japanese corporations and companies including Chiyoda, JGC Corporation, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, JERA, Chubu Electric, Marubeni, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Cosmo, Itochu, LNG Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC, Tohoku Electric, a number of shipping companies, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The visit is in continuation of an annual tradition, in which Qatar Petroleum and Qatargas connect with clients and partners in Japan, and review and discuss existing cooperation and business relationships and ways to enhance them.
The Qatar Petroleum and Qatargas annual talks in Japan enjoy increasing importance as Qatar continues to occupy a prominent place as a reliable and trustworthy energy supplier to Japan, particularly liquefied natural gas. Collaboration in the field of natural gas has a special significance in the matrix of relations with Japan, which was Qatar’s founding LNG customer. Qatar’s first LNG shipment, from Qatargas, arrived at the shores of Japan in  January 1997  under the first ever binding LNG supply contract signed between Chubu Electric and seven other Japanese buyers and Qatargas.