RIYADH, 22 May 2003 — Global terrorism, especially the recent suicide bombings in the capital which killed 34 people and injured 194 residents including three Japanese nationals, will top the agenda of the talks between Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi here on May 25.
The reconstruction of war-torn Iraq will also be a priority.
“A total of 17 Japanese were present in the Al-Hamra compounds in Riyadh at the time of the suicide attacks last week,” Japanese Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe told a press conference here yesterday. “Two out of the three injured Japanese officials have left the Kingdom,” the diplomat said.
More than 700 Japanese live and work in the Kingdom. Two out of the three Japanese injured in the Riyadh bombings have been working for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a government undertaking which has an office here.
The diplomat said Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi conveyed her condolences to the victims of the Riyadh attacks when she spoke to Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal on the phone yesterday morning.
She also briefed the prince about her recent visit to the Middle East including Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Syria, where she talks on the Middle East peace process.
A statement released by the embassy yesterday quoted Kawaguchi as saying that “Israelis and Palestinians must implement the road map promptly.”
Abe said the one-day visit of the Japanese premier to the Kingdom “will be Koizumi’s first visit as prime minister to the Middle East, and it is his first visit to Saudi Arabia.” He said the trip, which will also take Koizumi to the US and Egypt, would boost links between the leading oil-supplier Saudi Arabia and the resource-poor Japan.
Tokyo has also been importing oil from Iraq in the post-UN sanctions era, he said. The ambassador said the job training and job creation sector was an area where Japan was already offering its expertise through JICA.
Tokyo has launched a major training program for Saudis, and 1,333 Saudis have participated in this program since 1960. JICA is the Japanese government body responsible for implementation of technical cooperation programs. The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), another government body, could also organize training for Saudi youngsters, said the diplomat.
There was also a proposal to forge cooperation in water treatment and recycling, he noted. Abe said Tokyo would contribute $100 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Iraq in response to the flash appeal for aid launched by the UN recently and the appeals issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Tokyo, he said, would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saudi-Japanese diplomatic relations in 2005. A close ally, Japan ranks as the second largest trading partner of the Kingdom with two-way trade reported to be in the region of $16 billion annually. Tokyo has also emerged as the second largest investor in joint projects after the US.
