Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a summit with five Central Asian nations in Tokyo on Saturday. Japan and five Central Asian nations adopted a joint declaration at their first summit, held in Tokyo for two days through Saturday. The declaration identifies transportation infrastructure development, decarbonization and people-to-people exchanges as three priority areas. The current rapidly changing environment surrounding Central Asia, due to recent changes in the international situation, is making regional and global cooperation more important, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at the summit. The summit was also attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Singapore and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Artificial Intelligence (AI) cooperation, indicating that both nations want to speed up cross-border collaboration in the field. The MOU between Singapore's Smart Nation and Digital Government Office and Israel's Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology on AI cooperation would assist AI development and implementation for "common benefit," according to the MOU. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation. The foundation has supported around 190 projects between Singapore and Israel since its creation in 1997, delivering approximately US$120 million to initiatives in sectors such as information and communications technology, electronics, and biomedical and life sciences. Companies from both Singapore and Israel have been exploring prospects in both nations.

"Soft language" in a new agreement governing international armed drone exports could give foreign companies an advantage over U.S. industry, according to analysts. The administration on Wednesday announced that 44 nations had signed a joint declaration overseeing the sale and use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles. The new document requires the countries to commit to the "responsible export" of armed UAVs and continue conversations about standards for drone use and sales, the use of drone strikes in accordance with "international law" and the effort to increase transparency. Rachel Stohl, a senior associate at the Stimson Center, said U.S. companies are often subject to higher standards than their international competitors with respect to drone exports. "This declaration could continue [to] result in other countries and foreign companies having an edge over U.S. companies for drone exports," Stohl said via email.