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British foreign minister Yvette Cooper stressed Thursday the "urgent need" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and slammed Iran's "recklessness" as she convened a meeting of some 40 countries on the vital shipping route.Cooper said Iran's blockading of the waterway was "hitting our global economic security" as she kicked off the virtual meeting of international allies.The strait has been virtually closed since the US-Israeli war against Iran started on February 28, impacting global supplies of important commodities including oil, liquid natural gas, and fertiliser.That has led to a sharp rise in energy prices.Cooper said foreign ministers and representatives from more than 40 countries had joined the call to discuss "the urgent need to restore freedom of navigation for international shipping, and the strength of our international determination to see the Strait reopen once more".A total of 37 countries have signed a statement, first published last month, expressing "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through" the shipping lane.Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.The US, China, and most Middle Eastern countries have not, according to a list provided by the UK government."We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage," Cooper added in her opening remarks, broadcast before the rest of the meeting took place behind closed doors.Cooper said the discussions would focus on the "collective mobilisation of our full range of diplomatic and economic tools and pressures" to "enable a safe and sustained opening of the Strait".A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said securing the Strait of Hormuz could "only take place once the intense phase of the bombing is over".French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on a visit to South Korea, meanwhile, said a military operation to liberate the Strait of Hormuz was "unrealistic", while lamenting Trump's differing daily statements on the Iran war and Nato."There are those who advocate for the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz by force through a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the US," Macron said."I say sometimes because it has varied, it is never the option we have chosen and we consider it unrealistic," he said.The virtual meeting came after Trump urged oil-importing nations to show "courage" and seize the narrow strait."The countries of the world that... receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage," Trump said in a prime-time address at the White House late Wednesday."Just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves," he added.Trump has said he would consider a ceasefire only when Hormuz is "free and clear".Western officials have insisted any operation to protect seafarers using the strait could only come after a ceasefire."We are also convening military planners to look at how we marshal our collective defensive military capabilities, including looking at issues such as de-mining or reassurance once the conflict eases," Cooper told Thursday's meeting.Around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime.The channel normally sees around 120 daily transits, according to shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List.But since March 1, commodities carriers have made just 225 crossings, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler, a 94-percent decrease on peacetime. 

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi met in Kuwait with European Union (EU) Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic.The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 9th GCC-EU Economic Forum. During the meeting, several economic and commercial topics were discussed, along with ways to enhance GCC-European relations in areas and priorities of common interest. Both sides affirmed their aspiration to strengthen relations and build numerous partnerships in various fields between the Cooperation Council and the EU.

Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump affirmed at their summit in Tokyo to bolster cooperation on defense and the economy.On the security front, Takaichi and Trump are likely to have confirmed the importance of reinforcing the alliance's deterrence and response capabilities amid growing challenges posed by China and North Korea, while Washington is calling for allies to spend more on defense, Japan news agency (Kyodo) reported.Takaichi and Trump signed documents, including one on cooperation to secure and supply critical minerals, including rare earths, in an effort to enhance economic security, according to Kyodo.Takaichi described the Japan-US alliance as "the greatest alliance in the world."She is expected to stress her plan, pledged in her parliamentary speech last week, to increase Japan's defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product by March, two years ahead of the previously set goal of fiscal 2027, Kyodo added.Japan has been raising its defense budget significantly since the fiscal 2027 target was set when the government in late 2022 revised its long-term National Security Strategy, which Takaichi has vowed to update next year.The two sides are also expected to have affirmed the steady implementation of a trade agreement struck in July, which includes a Japanese commitment to invest $550 billion in key US industries such as semiconductors, critical minerals and shipbuilding as well as increased purchases by Japan of US agricultural and other products.Based on the bilateral deal, Trump lowered US tariffs on goods from Japan, reducing the levy on automobiles to 15 percent from the previous rate of 27.5 percent.Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Seoul next Thursday, the next stop on his Asian tour.