Visit to Japan by H.R.H. Prince Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud,Governor of Riyadh of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

April 9, 1998

1. H.R.H. Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Governor of Riyadh of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will visit Japan from April 20 (Mon.) to 24 (Fri.) as Guest of the Foreign Minister of Japan.

2. During his stay in Japan, H.R.H. Prince Salman will have meetings with Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress and members of the Imperial Family. He will also have meetings with high officials of the Government of Japan and will visit various places in Tokyo and Kyoto.

3. H.R.H. Prince Salman is one of the sons of H.R.H. King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and one of the brothers of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. He has been Governor of Riyadh for as long as about 44 years since 1954. He has been carrying out a broad range of tasks in the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which go further than his responsibilities as Governor of Riyadh. He is among those in the Royal family who enjoy a high reputation and great popularity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

4. When Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimto had meetings with the Saudi leadership during his visit to Saudi Arabia in November last year, the enhancement of cooperation was proposed as a "Comprehensive Partnership for the 21st century between Japan and Saudi Arabia" which consists of the three pillars, political, economic, and new fields. The two countries then agreed that they would both cooperate toward the establishment of this new partnership. Taking into account the fact that high-level exchange between Japan and Saudi Arabia has been activated recently, the forthcoming visit to Japan by H.R.H. Prince Salman is considered a part of the promotional activities for the high level exchange in the political field under the Comprehensive Partnership.

5. Given the fact that Prime Minister Hashimoto also had a meeting with H.R.H. Prince Salman during his above-mentioned visit to Saudi Arabia, H.R.H. Prince Salman's forthcoming visit to Japan is expected to further tighten this close bilateral relationship.