Countries & Regions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from Tuesday, April 30 to Wednesday, May 1. After a signing ceremony of the Agreement between Japan and Saudi Arabia for the Promotion and Protection of Investment, the two countries issued the Joint Statement on the Strengthening of the Comprehensive Partnership between Japan and Saudi Arabia (Gist, Statement in English). An outline of the visit is as follows:

1. Main Events
    
   April 30 (Tuesday)
    
   (1) Talks with Crown Prince Salman bin Abudlaziz at airport and in car
   (2) Dinner hosted by Crown Prince Salman bin Abudlaziz
   (3) Telephone Talkswith King Abdulah bin Abudlaziz
   (4) Meeting with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz
   (5) Signing ceremony of the investment Agreement between Japan and Saudi Arabia for the Promotion and Protection of Investment
    
   May 1 (Wednesday)
    
   (1) Policy speech at King Abdulaziz University
   (2) Talks with members of Economic Mission from Japan
    
2. Outline and Results of the Visit
    
   April 30 (Tuesday)
    
   (1) Talks with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz (at Airport and in Car)
    
   Prime Minister Abe held talks with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz for a total of approximately 15 minutes at the airport and in a car on their way to the King Faisal Guest Palace. They decided to develop the bilateral cooperation between the two countries not only on energy but also in all other fields. They also exchanged views on Japanese food.
    
   (2) Dinner hosted by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz
    
   Prime Minister Abe attended a dinner hosted by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz at the King Faisal Guest Palace for approximately 30 minutes from 9 p.m. (Other Japanese participants included Mr. Hiroshige Seko, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, and Mr. Taku Eto, Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Among the main participants from Saudi Arabia were Minister of Foreign Affairs Saud Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz and Minister of Finance Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf.) The two sides welcomed progress in the joint oil stockpiling project and decided to promote cooperation for human resources development. Prime Minister Abe explained the steady progress of reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake as well as clean energy.
    
   (3) Telephone Talks with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
    
   Prime Minister Abe held telephone talks with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for approximately 10 minutes from 10 p.m. Prime Minister Abe expressed gratitude to King Abdullah for holding the talks. Prime Minister Abe said that he visited Saudi Arabia as Prime Minister for the first time in six years and it made him feel that he was back. He also said it was an honor to have received a decoration during the last visit. The two sides decided to strengthen their comprehensive partnership in areas such as politics, economy and culture. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz said Saudi Arabia would like to offer utmost cooperation to Japan and maintain friendly relations with Japan permanently.
    
   (4) Meeting with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz
    
   Prime Minister Abe held a meeting with Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz for approximately 45 minutes from 9:30 p.m. The two sides decided to start security dialogue and to promote defense exchanges while expanding bilateral cooperation to the fields of politics and security. Prime Minister Abe explained Japan's energy conservation efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the safety of nuclear energy and they decided to proceed with working-level consultations on nuclear power cooperation. they also decided to further strengthen economic relations between their countries. They exchanged views on the Middle Eastern situation as well.
    
   (5) Singing Ceremony of Investment Agreement
    
   After their meeting, Prime Minister Abe and Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz witnessed the signing of the Agreement between Japan and Saudi Arabia for the Promotion and Protection of Investment by Mr. Jiro Kodera, ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and H.E. Mr. Abdullatif A. Al-Othman, Governor of the General Investment Authority.
    
   May 1 (Wednesday)
    
   (1) Policy Speech at King Abdulaziz University
    
   Prime Minister Abe delivered a policy speech entitled, "Japan's Ties with the Middle East in a New Age of Synergy, Mutual Prosperity, and Cooperation" (English).
    
   (2) Talks with members of Economic Mission from Japan
    
   Prime Minister Abe held talks with the members of the Japanese economic mission from Japan accompanying him to Saudi Arabia for approximately an hour from noon at the residence of Consul-General in Jeddah.