RIYADH, 15 October — The Kingdom and Japan will hold a major business conference on Jan. 15 next year within the framework of Saudi-Japan Business Council. The two-day conference to take place in Tokyo is significant as Japan is ranked the second largest commercial partner of the Kingdom.
This was disclosed by Japanese Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe here yesterday. He said an investment conference is also scheduled to be held in Tokyo early next year for the exchange of information about investment procedures between Japanese and Middle East companies.
The last meeting of Saudi-Japan Business Council, held in Riyadh last year, attracted more than 100 participants.
Referring to Japan’s participation in a high-profile symposium on Saudi economy to be inaugurated by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, here on Oct. 19, the ambassador said that Yoshiyuki Fujisawa, chairman of Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., will attend the meeting. Fujisawa, he said, will deliver a lecture on "Financing Japanese industrial development: Relevant lessons for Saudi Arabia."
These interactions will greatly help boost trade and investment relations between the two countries. The diplomat said a $350 million joint venture project called Saudi-Japanese Methanol Company has been given the green signal by both sides. The project, on which the two sides have already started work, will begin production of methanol and butanediol during the third quarter of 2004. On cooperation in the field of technology, he said that research projects and technical cooperation projects initiated by the Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) were taken over by the Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP) early last year. JCCP, which seeks to promote technical cooperation with oil-producing countries in the downstream sectors of the oil industry, has already announced plans to open its office in Riyadh soon.
Ambassador Abe said JCCP is currently involved in a research project with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) on hi-severity fluid catalytic cracking process. It is also involved in research projects with the Riyadh-based King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
Asked about Japan’s effort to revive the Middle East peace process, Ambassador Abe said Japan has given $630 million in aid to Palestinians since 1993.
"Since the outbreak of the current conflict in September, 2000 in the region, Japan has contributed about $50 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians, said the diplomat, adding that Japan has also been involved in training and repairing PA facilities besides committing substantial support for reform efforts initiated by the Palestinian Authority.
He also gave a road map as to how Japan plans to assist Palestinians once violence ends and dialogue resumes.
