JEDDAH, 3 April 2006 — In another important move aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s relations with Asian countries, Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will visit Japan, Singapore and Pakistan beginning on Wednesday, April 5.
The crown prince’s tour is an extension of the historic visits by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan last January. This royal visit is also a reflection of Saudi Arabia’s look-East policy.
Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and top officials will be present at the airport to welcome Sultan when he arrives in Tokyo on Wednesday. This is Sultan’s first official visit abroad since becoming crown prince in August 2005. According to Saudi ambassador to Japan, Faisal Tarad, Sultan was the first high-ranking Saudi official to visit Japan in 1960 after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1955.
After the United States, Japan is Saudi Arabia’s second largest trading partner and investor. Riyadh supplies one-third of Japan’s annual energy needs and more than 2.5 million people visited a Saudi exhibition in Tokyo last year. K. Konaga, co-chairman of the Saudi-Japanese Business Council, said his country attached great importance to Sultan’s visit, adding that it would bolster Saudi-Japanese ties. Konaga expressed happiness over the increase of Japanese investments in Saudi Arabia over the past years. Saudi Aramco recently signed an agreement with Sumitomo Chemical of Japan to establish the $10-billion PETRORabigh project, an integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Rabigh, 200 km northwest of Jeddah.
In a statement marking the 50th anniversary of Saudi-Japanese relations last year, Prime Minister Koizumi highlighted the “historic and unshakable relations” between the two countries. “We look far ahead into the future where our excellent relations will be even more essential to international society,” he said.
Saudi exports to Japan, estimated at SR49.325 billion ($13.15 billion), include crude oil, petroleum products and LPG while the Kingdom’s imports from Japan are automobiles, machinery and equipment and metals worth SR14.32 billion ($3.8 billion), official statistics indicate.
Prince Sultan is scheduled to arrive in Singapore on April 10 on the second leg of his tour. Saudi ambassador to Singapore, Dr. Muhammad Kurdi, said the three-day visit would witness the signing of a number of bilateral accords, including one for the promotion and protection of investment and another for promoting cooperation between the foreign ministries of the two countries.
Prince Sultan will arrive in Pakistan on April 15. His talks with President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz “will focus on regional and international issues,” said Saudi ambassador, Ali Awadh Asseri. He said Sultan would also review the Kingdom’s relief activities for Pakistan’s earthquake victims. Asseri urged Saudi businessmen to take advantage of the lucrative investment opportunities in Pakistan. He also spoke highly of the country’s educational institutions and said Saudi students could pursue higher education there.
Last month, Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari said the Kingdom would send more students to Asian countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea to pursue studies in medicine, general science and engineering.
