A reception was held in celebration of the 76th birthday of the Emperor of Japan, which is also the National Day of Japan, at the residence of the country's Consul General in Jeddah last week. Toshimitsu Ishigure hosted the event that saw the attendance of a large number of diplomats, businessmen, officials and members of the Japanese expatriate community. Ambassador Mohammed Bin Ahmed Tayeb, Director General of the Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Makkah, was the chief guest. In his speech, Tayeb congratulated the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese citizens. “Saudi Arabia and Japan share very strong ties with each other and I hope this relationship is further strengthened in the days to come,” he said. Speaking at the reception, Ishigure said: “We have seen a number of positive developments in the fields of trade and investment between the two countries. The volume of exports from Saudi Arabia to Japan in 2008 reached $50.5 billion and Saudi Arabia's imports from Japan are worth $7.8 billion, which indicates that Japan has maintained its status as one of the top trade partners of Saudi Arabia last year.” “In the education and human resource development sectors,” continued the consul general, “around 1,157 Saudi students graduated from the Saudi-Japan High Automobile Institute (SJAHI) in Jeddah in the past six years and 400 Saudi youths are learning plastic-related technologies at the Higher Institute for Plastic Fabrication. Japanese experts in various fields play a significant role in the Kingdom. Around 250 Saudi youths are studying at Japanese universities under the Saudi government's scholarship programs and 150 students are expected to be dispatched to Japan by the Kingdom next year.” Ishigure expressed his sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families of the Jeddah flood victims.
