Bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan, since their inception in the year 1955 AD, are characterized by steady development, growth and cooperation in various fields, as a result of the policies and principles drawn and stipulated in bilateral agreements, discussions and mutual visits between officials of the two countries.
The relations between the two friendly countries are one of the most important international relations that were dominated by sincerity, honesty, and commitment to all that was agreed upon. The Kingdom and Japan agree on a common vision regarding current issues in the region, based on the common understanding that their cooperation is of great importance for stability and prosperity in the Middle East and society. international in general.
The two friendly countries have distinguished relations for many years, as King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman – may God have mercy on him – described Japan during his meeting with the Japanese Minister Plenipotentiary in Cairo, by saying: “We respect Japan as a great country in Southeast Asia.” The governments of the Kingdom and Japan were keen to develop these relations. And strengthening it in various fields, and this was reinforced by the exchange of visits between them, as the Kingdom witnessed in 1997 AD, the formulation of the comprehensive partnership towards the 21st century between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz – may God have mercy on him – and the former Prime Minister of Japan, Ryotaro Hashimoto.
And in support of those relations, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God have mercy on him – visited Japan when he was crown prince in 1998, and signed the “Saudi-Japanese Cooperation Agenda” with former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Former Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono also visited the Kingdom. In 2001, during the visit, he announced his initiatives in three areas: encouraging dialogue between civilizations with the Islamic world, developing water resources, and broad political dialogue.
In continuation of advancing relations for the benefit of the two friendly countries, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister – may God protect him – visited Japan in September 2016 and met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The two sides agreed to form a joint vision between the two countries under the name “Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030”, stressing the transfer of cooperation to a strategic stage, not limited to oil aspects, in a way that serves the bilateral interests between the two countries.
The historic visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God protect him – to Japan in March 2017; As a strong support for the development of the form and nature of the strategic economic work between the two countries, it came with ambitious and promising visions and ideas, and resulted in the signing of a large number of agreements and partnerships between the two sides.
Among the most prominent agreements signed during the visit: a draft memorandum of cooperation between the governments of the two countries on the implementation of the Saudi-Japanese vision 2030, which will push the economic relations between the two countries to a new stage that transfers the strong relationship, which is limited to commercial exchange in oil exports and car imports, into a comprehensive strategic partnership. .
The visit brought about a quantum leap in the historical relationship between the two countries, to establish a basis for the continuity of the relationship in comprehensive areas of cooperation, which was confirmed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques – may God support him – in his speech during his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, by saying: – May God protect him – “The launch of the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030 will enhance the strategic partnership between the Kingdom and Japan.”
Relations witnessed an important turning point during the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to Japan in 2019, which came upon the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God protect him – and in response to the invitation of the Japanese government. During which, His Highness the Crown Prince participated in the G20 summit in Osaka.
The visit established a new phase of relations between the two friendly countries, as the Prime Minister of Japan – at the time – Shinzo Abe, praised the Saudi Vision 2030, and expressed his country’s keenness and readiness, through the public and private sectors, to provide more effort and cooperation with the Kingdom.
The visit resulted in a qualitative leap in the historical relations between Riyadh and Tokyo, where many agreements were signed between the two countries, which included various areas, including the promotion of cultural exchange, combating counterfeiting of products, small and medium enterprises, and enhancing their competitiveness in global markets, the energy sector, and the field industry, the field of international development and investment, information exchange, as well as the news field.
The joint vision “Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030” includes nine sectors: food and agricultural security, media and entertainment, medical care, high-quality infrastructure, money and investment, competitive industries, energy, building small and medium enterprises, culture, sports and education. This vision includes 65 Saudi and Japanese government agencies.
The governments of the two countries worked to implement projects related to Saudi Arabia and Japan, and to assist and follow up the situation of all Japanese companies in Saudi Arabia through the opening of the Saudi-Japanese Vision Realization Office in Riyadh in January 2018; This office is also working to attract new Japanese investments to the Kingdom, and the Kingdom announced the opening of an office in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, in the first quarter of 2020.
And based on the desire of the leaderships of the two countries to increase cooperation to serve their common interests; The strategic partnership projects of the “Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030” increased from 31 projects to 81 projects during the three years from 2017 to 2020.
In order to achieve the goals of the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030, the year 2022 witnessed distinguished investment cooperation between the Kingdom and Japan through investment meetings and forums.
The Kingdom and Japan… a strategic partnership and a common vision
