King Salman leaves Japan heading to Chins

Saudi King Salman Bin Abdel Aziz left the Japanese capital Tokyo on early Wednesday, heading to China to be the fifth stop of his Asian tour. The Saudi king is scheduled to meet with Chinese officials to discuss the recent developments in the Middle East and the ways to push forward the bilateral relations between the two countries in the different fields during the coming period.

The Saudi king ended his visit to Japan with the attendance of the closing session of Saudi-Business Business Forum. The forum discussed the ways to achieve the executive programs emitted from the Saudi Vision 2030.

The Saudi king also attended the signature of an agreement to increase cooperation between the two countries in the fields of industrial revolution and the program to execute the Japanese-Saudi vision 2030. The two parties signed over 30 agreements during the visit of the Saudi king to Tokyo in different fields, including oil, health, desalination and automotive industry.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, at a meeting with visiting Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Monday, offered Japan’s public-private cooperation to help Saudi Arabia realize its exit from an oil-reliant economy.

Japan’s cooperation will mainly cover nine areas including infrastructure development and the strengthening of industrial competitiveness. Taking the opportunity of a Saudi king’s first Japan trip in 46 years, Tokyo, for its part, aims to expand business opportunities for Japanese companies by offering to play a role in the Saudi economy’s structural reform.

Abe and King Salman agreed to beef up their countries’ security cooperation, including the resumption of subcabinet-level talks, while defining the bilateral relationship as a strategic partnership. They also agreed to cooperate for stabilizing Middle East situations.

“We hope to powerfully advance our country’s relations with Saudi Arabia, which is a cornerstone for stability in the Middle East,” Abe said in his opening remarks at the meeting.