The Saudi-Japanese Ministerial Investment Forum signed 12 memorandums of understanding in a broad spectrum of areas, such as space, finance, and agriculture.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the event was meant to improve bilateral investment and trade collaboration, ease accessibility to new investment opportunities, and evaluate common initiatives in major sectors, such as energy, machinery, and equipment.
This collaboration will also enhance the investment relationship between Japan and Saudi Arabia, specifically the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030, which is expected to increase economic cooperation and long-term strategic relations between the two countries.
As an energy security partner, the Kingdom has long been an important partner of Japan, as a consistent and unwavering supplier of crude oil over the years.
This bond fits well with the idea that Japan has been keen to assist Saudi Arabia in terms of expertise sharing and the transfer of sophisticated technologies to help them sustainably develop their economies.
The forum also discussed how to enhance the efforts towards building economic relationships between both nations and allowing the commercial sector to seize investment opportunities.
The forum was organized under “Invest in Saudi Arabia” in the presence of Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, president of the Saudi Esports Federation, the Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha.
The Japanese attendees included the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of the country, Ryosei Akazawa, and the presence of several government representatives, as well as the officials representing the major Saudi and Japanese firms.
In an interview with Al-Ekhbariya, Al-Falih said, “Japan is our third largest trading partner and one of the largest investors in the Kingdom, with investments exceeding SR25 billion ($6.67 billion), if I recall correctly.”
He also stated, “However, our ambition is to see this mutual trade and investment, particularly Japanese investments in the Kingdom, grow.”
Al-Falih added, “Specifically, we are looking to focus on promising sectors targeted by the new Japanese Prime Minister, sectors that align perfectly with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030: the technology sector, the gaming sector, electronics, and digital content; the green energy sector, and renewable energy, which the Japanese need.”
However, the minister proceeded to add that the Kingdom was the first nation to export carbon-free ammonia products to Japan. Al-Eqtisadiah reported that in his speech at the forum, Al-Falih announced that Saudi Arabia is about to start exporting green hydrogen to Japan in the upcoming days.
