Saudi Crown Prince discusses deepening partnership with Japanese Prime Minister
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense made a phone call to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
During the call, they discussed aspects of bilateral cooperation in various fields, opportunities for developing areas of strategic partnership between the two friendly countries, and emphasis on strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030. Views were also exchanged on many regional and international issues and efforts made in their regard.
Saudi –Japanese relations
One of the distinguishing features of bilateral relations is when Saudi Arabia granted the concession to explore for oil to a Japanese company, the Arabian Oil Company, and it achieved success in extracting oil later. The concession agreement was signed in December 1957 and an experimental petroleum discovery was made in January 1960.
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz visited Japan in 1960 when he was serving as Minister of Communications. Then, King Faisal’s visit to Japan in 1971 greatly enhanced the friendship between the two countries. The visits of important personalities between the two countries increased after the oil crisis in 1973.
The relations between the Japanese imperial family and the Saudi royal family developed through these successive visits. The Crown Prince of Japan, Prince Akihito, and his wife Michiko, who are the current Emperor and Empress of Japan, visited the Kingdom in 1981.
Prince Nawaf bin Abdulaziz attended the coronation ceremonies of the Emperor on behalf of King Fahd in 1990. The Crown Prince of Japan, Prince Naruhito, and his wife, Princess Masako, visited the Kingdom in 1994.
As for recent developments, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and King Fahd formulated the “Comprehensive Partnership towards the Twenty-First Century” when Hashimoto visited Saudi Arabia in 1997.
Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz visited Japan in 1998 and signed the “Saudi-Japanese Cooperation” with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono visited the Kingdom in 2001 and announced his initiatives in three areas: Encouraging dialogue among civilizations with the Islamic world, developing water resources, and broad-based political dialogue.
In March 2017, the Custodian of the two holy mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz visited Japan, the first visit in 46 years, to enhance economic cooperation and establish a strategic partnership in various fields.
