[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Kingdom, Japan sign 7 MoUs in different fields" ids="81493,81491,81492,81494"] SAUDI ARABIA and Japan on Thursday took a major step in cementing their historic relations by signing seven memorandums of understanding (MoU) in various fields including economic and culture. The signing of the MoUs was overseen in Tokyo by Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Separately, Prince Muhammad and Prime Minister Abe discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation between their two countries and the ways to enhance them further. International and regional developments also came up for discussion during the meeting. Prime Minister Abe appreciated the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and expressed his desire to discuss areas of partnership in this regard. He also lauded the leading role of the Kingdom in achieving security and stability in the Middle East, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. The MoUs the two sides signed include: Cooperation to enhance cultural exchanges through several channels. Cooperation to protect copyrights. Cooperation in the field of small and medium enterprises and enhancing their competitive ability in global markets. Cooperation to produce and maintain energy. Investment cooperation in the industrial field. Cooperation in the field of international development, investment and exchange of information between Saudi Fund for Development and Japanese Agency for International Cooperation. Cooperation in news field between Saudi Press Agency and Kyodo News Agency. Prime Minister Abe also held a dinner banquet in honor of the Deputy Crown Prince and his accompanying delegation. During speeches, Prince Muhammad and Prime Minister Abe touched on the historical relations and strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and Japan and the desire to continue strengthening these relations to achieve the aspirations of the two countries and their friendly peoples. Earlier, Emperor Akihito of Japan received Prince Muhammad at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The two leaders exchanged talks on the firm relations between the two countries. Later, the "Saudi-Japanese Business Forum — Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030" held a session with the participation of Saudi Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf; Minister Economy and Planning Dr. Adel Faqih, and several Saudi and Japanese ministers. Hiroaki Ishii, chairman of the Board of Directors of Japan External Trade Organization praised Vision 2030 as a national strategy for transformation in the 21st century. He said the vision meets with the aspirations of Japan in financing of industries and development of facilities. He said Japanese companies have great potential to contribute to this vision. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko said his country's relations with Saudi Arabia have been strengthened steadily in the field of economy. The Kingdom is our very important business partner and it is the largest oil exporter to Japan, he said stressing that Japan is also one of the largest exporters of various products to the Kingdom. Separately, Hiroaki Ishii handed over a booklet titled "Strategic Partners of the Kingdom's Vision 2030" to the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi. Accord signed SME agencies The Higher Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises signed a cooperation agreement with the Japanese Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises on Thursday. The agreement initially aims to benefit from the pioneering Japanese international experience in this sector. The objective is to contribute to creating an attractive environment for enterprises in the Kingdom. This will boost the Kingdom's economic growth and raise contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) according to the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The Governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Dr. Ghassan Al-Sulaiman said the aim of visiting several economic facilities in Japan is to sign cooperation agreements with them. The objective is also to benefit from the rich Japanese knowledge in the field of SMEs, extending to over 65 years. The visits covered the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Industry, Japan-Middle East Cooperation Center, Japanese External Trade Organization, several business incubators and small and medium Japanese companies. The delegation also visited Mizuho Bank. Meanwhile, Saudi Ambassador to Japan Ahmed Bin Younes Al-Barrak described Prince Muhammad's visit to Japan as of paramount importance. In a statement, the ambassador said that visits exchanged between the Kingdom and Japan contributed to closer cooperation between the two countries, based on mutual respect to promote true partnership. In another development, Minister of Labor and Social Development Dr. Mufrej Al-Haqbani met here Thursday with Chairman of the Board of Directors of Japan's General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training and President of SPDC Company Shinji Nakayama on the sidelines of the official visit by Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues aimed at strengthening cooperation and partnership between the two countries. The Labor Minister highlighted "the Kingdom's Vision 2030" and "National Transformation Program in 2020."
