TOKYO, May 7. /TASS/. The Japanese government has reached an agreement with the UAE on additional supplies of 20 mln barrels of oil that will be transported without using the route through the effectively blocked Strait of Hormuz. The shipment will be loaded at the port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman, which is connected by pipeline to UAE oil fields, Nikkei newspaper reported.

The port has previously been targeted by Iranian drone strikes. Therefore, the newspaper noted, Japan needs stabilization of the situation in the region to ensure safe imports through Fujairah.

Earlier, speaking at a press conference in Paris, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia had pledged to ensure stable oil supplies using new approaches despite the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, the two countries have alternative export routes available.

Like the UAE, Saudi Arabia also has a port capable of exporting oil while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Before the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, these two countries accounted for the bulk of Japan’s oil imports.