Arab News Japan

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced Friday the formation of the Saudi-Japanese Business Council in its new session, aiming to strengthen cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Japan in the business sector.

Tariq Al-Qahtani was elected the Chairman of the council, while Nouf Alrakan and Mohammed bin Saad Al Ajlan were appointed as vice charimen, with the objective of expanding trade relations between the two counties.

“The economic relationship between Saudi Arabia and Japan is of great importance to the leaders of both countries, and it is considered an international model for constructive cooperation and strategic partnership,” Al-Qahtani said.

“This relationship is also based on a solid foundation of institutional and organizational frameworks that is represented by the Saudi-Japanese Joint Committee, the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030, and the Saudi-Japanese Business Council that operates under the umbrella of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, as well as bilateral cooperation and understanding agreements in many fields,” Al-Qahtani added.

Saudi Arabia is the main source of oil to Japan. Japan imports about 33 percent of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia, and has created a Saudi crude oil storage facility in Okinawa. Saudi Arabia is also the most important trading partner of Japan. This is exemplified in Saudi Arabia being one of the main markets for Japanese vehicles.

The increasing cooperation between Japan and Saudi Arabia in the oil and petrochemical manufacturing industries has indeed made Japan the largest investor in Saudi Arabia, thus the formation of the Saudi-Japanese Business Council acts as a vehicle to expand on those relations, while further promoting  Saudi-Japan trade and investment opportunities within various fields.