Abe hails enhanced ties with Saudi Arabia

June 10, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed enhanced ties with Saudi Arabia during talks with Mosaad Mohammed Aiban, the Middle Eastern country's minister of state, in Tokyo on Monday.

Japan and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendly ties and their relations are progressing in many fields, not just in the field of oil and energy, Abe told Aiban.

Aiban, a close aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, responded by saying that he hopes that the two countries will strengthen their strategic relationship.

Abe is seen to have asked for the Saudi side's understanding for his visit to Iran, set for three days starting Wednesday. He held telephone talks with the Saudi crown prince on May 30.

On Sunday, the Japanese and Saudi communications ministries signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of information and communications technology.

The initiative calls for supporting the development of ICT professionals in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with research institutions and companies in Japan. The move comes as the Arab nation is seeking to diversify its industries to wean off its reliance on oil exports.

"Cooperation in personnel exchanges and toward improving the quality of ICT infrastructure is extremely significant," Japanese communications minister Masatoshi Ishida told reporters in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting on trade and the digital economy. "We expect to see more ICT development in both countries," he said.