Malak Alzahrani

JEDDAH: Japan is supportive of de-escalation efforts in the Iran-Saudi deal, which could help the security of oil shipments.

Spokespersons for the Japanese foreign ministry, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Press Secretary ONO Hikariko and Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs ADACHI Hideaki held a briefing with Saudi press on Sunday.

Arab News Japan asked about Japan’s point of view on matters such as the Iran-Saudi deal which could help security of oil shipments. Is Japan supportive of de-escalation efforts? Answering the question, the Japanese foreign ministry spokespersons said the following.

“Japan welcomes the de-escalation efforts made by both parties. Japan would also want to play a part in the stabilization in the middle east situation,” Ono told Arab News Japan.

The Japan-Saudi Arabia summit meeting business roundtable was attended by business communities including the economic mission members. There were presentations on the various fields by representative of Saudi companies and followed by the signing and exchange of cooperation by the companies of both countries.

Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced the resumption of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations after the suspension of about 14 years.

“Prime minister KISHIDA Fumio mentioned Japan’s unwavering support for the Saudi Vision 2030, he also expressed Japan’s readiness to further expand Japan’s cooperation with Saudi Arabia by introducing a new chapter of the cooperation framework which is called Japan-Saudi Arabia vision 2030, which was agreed in 2016,” Ono said to Arab News Japan.

Japan would like to further expand their cooperation in such fields as cutting-edge technologies, medical and healthcare services. Also, Japan would like to contribute to making the Middle East a global hub for supply chain for the next generations and would like to further cooperate on the realization of what is called a global green journey, which is a new concept to endeavor.

Japanese business communities are highly interested in investing in Saudi Arabia, that is why many companies joined in the economical mission for this trip to the Middle East, in particular the Kingdom.

The prime minister had a meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia talking about three main points regarding the diplomacy and security arena.

“We are hoping to launch the foreign minister level dialogue, and regarding the economy and trade, the economic mission of Japan and Japanese business community in particular, we are looking forward to seek further expansion of bilateral trade and investment both in public and private sectors,” Ono said.