On behalf of the GCC, the accord was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah and GGC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani.
“Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba, who is currently visiting the Kingdom, inked the partnership agreement,” said Saudi Ambassador to Japan Abdulaziz A. Turkistani in an interview on Saturday.
Turkistani said that Riyadh and Tokyo on the one hand, as well as GCC and Japan on the other, had opened a new era of relationship following the visit of the Japanese foreign minister to the Kingdom. This was the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister in 11 years.
He said the partnership accord would ensure that Saudi Arabia and Japan will add “concrete strategic contents” to their ties, including building close collaboration in different fields.
“The shared strategic vision will be progressively carried forward,” said Turkistani, adding that the dormant process of political dialogue based on an agreement signed by Riyadh and Tokyo in 2006 has also been activated following the talks between Prince Abdul Aziz and the Japanese foreign minister.
Asked about the topics discussed by Prince Abdul Aziz and Genba, he said that “the talks mainly focused on bilateral ties, cooperation in energy field, and on regional developments in the Arab world. We have agreed to upgrade the quality of our relationship to that of a strategic partnership and that this partnership will cover economic issues, trade and investment issues,” said the envoy, adding that the relation will include issues relating to energy security and cooperation in other sectors.
He said that the talks between the Japanese official and Saudi and GCC officials focused more “on strengthening relations with countries that are of vital importance to Japan’s energy security. Japan is especially dependent on imported oil and natural gas after shutting down nuclear reactors following last year's tsunami. About 30 percent of the total oil consumption of Japan is supplied by Riyadh.”
According to a recent Reuters report, Japan's biggest refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp is talking with the Kingdom and other oil producers to source crude to replace any disruption to its imports from Iran.
European foreign ministers plan to announce more sanctions on Iran’s energy and banking industries at a meeting on Jan. 30 after Greece ended its objections to an oil embargo.
Fresh US sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program could make it difficult for refiners in Japan, Iran's number three crude buyer, to pay Tehran for its oil.
Asked about other topics that were discussed with Saudi officials, Turkistani pointed out that a range of topics including proposals and plans to boost cooperation in education, culture, technology transfer and industrial collaboration were discussed. To this end, he noted that Saudi exports to Japan amounted to SR136 billion in 2010. The Saudi exports were composed of a number of goods, but mainly petroleum and petrochemical products.
“Japan occupies the first rank on the list of top 10 countries in terms of Saudi exports,” said the envoy, adding that Riyadh is number one oil exporter to Japan. He also disclosed that 400 male and female Saudi students are currently enrolled in different Japanese universities and colleges. Gemba’s official Middle Eastern tour will cover Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from January 5 to 12. He will be leaving for Qatar on Sunday afternoon.
