Saudi, Japan sign defence agreement

TOKYO: Saudi Arabia and Japan today signed a defence agreement in Tokyo during the ongoing visit of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Prince Mohammed witnessed the signing ceremony.
Prince Mohammed also met Japan’s defense minister to discuss defense and military cooperation and the latest developments in the Middle East region.
A high-level Saudi-Japan Defence ministerial meeting was also held in Tokyo where officials from both the countries discussed ways to increase bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest.
The deputy crown prince is currently visiting Japan as part of his three-country tour of the Asian region.
On Thursday, Prince Mohammed held talks with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito in Tokyo where they also discussed promoting bilateral cooperation and the latest developments. Saudi Arabia and Japan yesterday signed seven Memorandums of Understanding in a number of areas.
Bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan have experienced a quantum leap and are growing steadily in all spheres of life including economy, culture, military, education and health fields.

Cultural ties
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Toraifi met his Japanese counterpart Hiroshi Hase met on the sidelines of the official visit of Prince Mohammed where they discussed boosting Japanese-Saudi cultural relations within the framework of “Vision 2030”.
The two ministers discussed hosting art and cultural events, exchange of cultural programs and other issues of mutual interests.=