Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Saudi and Japanese defense ministers on Monday met in Tokyo to discuss ways to bolster security cooperation.

Prince Khalid bin Salman held talks with his Japanese counterpart Hamada Yasukazu at Japan’s Ministry of Defense offices in the capital city.

Hamada outlined his country’s defense strategy and said Japan sought to strengthen its existing links with Saudi Arabia while working to reinforce its security capabilities.

Prince Khalid highlighted current issues affecting the region, Saudi and Middle East defense policies, and major initiatives being undertaken as part of a Saudi Ministry of Defense transformation program.

The ministers also discussed defense equipment and technology cooperation and committed to establishing closer military-to-military communication channels.

Prince Khalid posted a tweet, saying: “During my visit to Japan, I had the pleasure of meeting His Excellency Mr. Yasukazu Hamada, Minister of Defense of Japan. During the meeting, we reviewed the friendly relations between our two countries, and discussed aspects of joint cooperation in the military and defense field, and discussed developments in the regional and international situation, and the efforts exerted towards them.”

خلال زيارتي لليابان، سُعدت بلقاء معالي وزير الدفاع الياباني السيد ياسوكازو هامادا.
استعرضنا خلال اللقاء علاقات الصداقة التي تجمع بلدينا، وبحثنا أوجه التعاون المشترك في المجال العسكري والدفاعي، وناقشنا تطورات الأوضاع الإقليمية والدولية، والجهود المبذولة تجاهها. pic.twitter.com/eZ8rkIPHqw

— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud) July 31, 2023

The Saudi delegation attending the meeting included Gen. Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, chief of staff of the Kingdom’s armed forces, Dr. Khaled bin Hussein Al-Bayari, assistant minister of defense for executive affairs, Nayef Al-Fahadi, the Saudi ambassador to Japan, Hisham Abdulaziz bin Saif, director general of the defense minister’s office, and Maj. Gen. Misfer Messarreb Al-Ghamdi, head of strategic planning for the armed forces.

Japanese attendees included Gen. Yoshida Yoshihide, the country’s chief of staff, Miura Jun, director general for international affairs, and Ashizuka Osamu, director of the Indo-Pacific regional policy division.