Saudi Ambassador to Japan Abdulaziz bin Abdul-Sattar Turkistani has stressed deep-rooted relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan, noting that the strategic bilateral partnership has entered a new phase in the further enhancement of cooperation in the fields of technology, economy and energy. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the ambassador said that the primary goal of the current visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as cited by the Premier's office, focuses on expansion of the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially to open up new avenues and opt for innovative projects of bilateral cooperation including new technologies in renewable energy, recycling, and nuclear energy. He also referred to the recent statement issued by Japanese Finance Ministry that clearly showed that Japan was the largest trading partner of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East in 2012. Highlighting the split up figures of the volume of bilateral trade, the ambassador said the Kingdom's exports to Japan amounted to 4 trillion, 467 billion and 243 million yen, an increase of 8% from the previous year, while the value of the Kingdom's imports from Japan during the same year amounted to 653 billion and 998 million yen, an increase of 19% from the previous year.
