Riyadh, May 02, SPA -- The Saudi-Japan Joint Committee issued here today a joint statement on conclusion of its Ninth meeting which ended its deliberations yesterday in the Saudi capital.
It said the deliberations, which were co-chaired by Minister of Economy and Planning Khalid Mohammad Al-Gosaibi and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari, considered as prime guidelines the results of the historic visit of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz, the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General to Japan from April 5-7, 2006 and the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from April 28-29, 2007 to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The joint statement said that the two sides expressed their satisfaction over the close and friendly bilateral ties in diplomatic, economic and cultural fields.
The two sides expressed their determination to take all necessary measures to execute directives which were contained in the joint statement that had been issued at the end of Shinzo Abe's visit to Riyadh to pursue the development of multi-phased strategic partnership.
The two countries also welcomed the massive growth in mutual investments in the two countries and agreed upon to enter into a new phase of Saudi-Japanese economic relationship. They agreed on the importance of having multi-phased economic ties relying on joint interests.
The two sides welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Japanese Organization for Foreign Trade on April 28, 2007 to increase mutual cooperation and investment.
The two sides lauded all future cooperation programs that had been announced by the Japanese governmental authorities which are strengthening trade and investment through exchange of delegations of the two countries and holding exhibitions and forums as well as forming a specialized team in industrial cooperation to facilitate Japanese investment prospects in new Saudi industries in the framework of the national development program for industrial complexes.
The two sides decided to invite Saudi delegates to participate in training programs in oil, exploration and development technologies as well as taking steps to increase trade, investment and insurance services between Saudi Arabia and Japan as well as holding forums for small and medium scales industrial ventures that could lead to diversification of Saudi industries.
The two countries reaffirmed the importance of the two governments' support to increase Japanese investments in Saudi Arabia, mainly industry, energy and water desalination sectors.
The two sides welcomed the latest developments pertaining to enhancing business atmosphere for investors of the two countries.
The two sides reiterated the necessity that public and private sectors in the two countries exert more efforts to achieve comprehensive economic development relationship. In this context, the two sides decided to launch an active initiative to form a specialized team for industrial cooperation to facilitate Japanese investment opportunities in new Saudi industries.
They expressed their happiness over what has been accomplished recently in negotiations pertaining to Japanese free trade agreement with the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as in negotiations of the joint investment agreement . The two sides are also seeking to reach a final agreement in principle as soon as possible in this context. The two sides expressed their deep commitment to exert any efforts to achieve this goal.
The two sides reaffirmed the importance of the stability of the international oil market. On its part, the Japanese side expressed its appreciation and understanding of the Saudi balanced oil policy and termed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as "a trusted and safe oil exporter for the international market in general and the Japanese market in particular."
The two sides lauded the Second Asian Energy Roundtable meeting, which is now in progress in Riyadh with co-hosting by Saudi Arabia and Japan.
They also reiterated the importance of enhancing and expanding of joint cooperation in the field of energy on the basis of mutual complementary ties as Saudi Arabia is enriched with massive hydrocarbon reserves in the world and Japan is having the highly advanced energy techonology.
On its part, the Saudi side expressed Saudi Arabia's determination to continue securing stable oil supplies to Japan.
The two sides expressed their collective view on the importance of enhancing and developing cooperation in the field of vocational education and technical training.
The two countries reiterated the importance of continuing the meeting of the Joint Committee on a regular basis and whenever it is needed.
The two sides decided to hold the Committee's next meeting in Tokyo at a time of their convenience, the joint statement said.
© Saudi Press Agency 2007
