Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss economic and investment cooperation in energy, joint investments, climate initiatives, environmental sustainability, and mitigating the effects of climate change.
During the meeting, the “Saudi-Japanese Partnership Council” was announced, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to continuing the supply of crude oil to Japan and expressed the Kingdom’s desire to enhance cooperation with Japan in other areas, including clean energy.
He highlighted the growth in trade between the two countries in recent years and expressed a keen interest in collaborating with Japanese companies on promising projects.
He noted that Japan is one of the largest investment destinations for Saudi Arabia.
The Crown Prince also emphasized Japan’s prominent cultural role and voiced a desire to strengthen cultural cooperation with Japan.
Prime Minister Kishida expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its stable oil supply to Japan and looked forward to the Kingdom’s continued leadership in stabilizing the global oil market and supporting global supply chains for clean energy.
He also expressed hope for attracting direct foreign investments from Saudi Arabia into Japan in sectors such as construction, energy transmission, hydrogen utilization, digitalization, ICT, space, healthcare, and agriculture, which would create new business opportunities.
Kishida celebrated the passing of the Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai torch to Saudi Arabia for the 2030 event, and expressed Japan’s intent to foster growth in entertainment, tourism, education, and sports sectors.
He also acknowledged the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, emphasizing that cooperation with Saudi Arabia contributes to regional stability and cultural exchange, as seen in the Expo collaborations.
The prime minister extended well wishes to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and looked forward to a future visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Japan.
According to SPA, the virtual meeting reviewed the distinguished bilateral relations and explored opportunities to enhance them across various fields. Regional and international developments were also discussed, along with efforts to address them and other topics of mutual interest.
Both leaders discussed efforts to halt Israeli aggressions, deliver humanitarian aid, support international recognition of an independent Palestinian state, and uphold the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, as reported by SPA.
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that both sides agreed to establish a “Strategic Partnership Council” under their leadership to comprehensively enhance bilateral relations.
The ministry added that Prime Minister Kishida expressed a desire to cooperate on creating a global supply chain for clean energy such as hydrogen and ammonia, enhancing cooperation in mineral resources, and utilizing Japanese technology under the “MANAR Initiative” agreed upon by both countries last July.
Kishida emphasized the importance of accelerating the conclusion of a free trade agreement between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council, with talks set to resume soon.
Saudi Arabia is keen to bolster its cooperation with Japan in numerous areas, including clean energy. Approximately 30 new Memorandums of Understanding were signed during the Saudi-Japanese Investment Forum held in Tokyo.
The MOUs targeted sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and tourism, including deals between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s INEOS Holdings, as well as major Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho, and Saudi ACWA Power, according to Bloomberg.
Japan’s Ministry of Commerce noted that Japanese trading company Marubeni plans to establish a wind farm project in Saudi Arabia.
