Business & Money | Friday 20 February, 2015 3:45 am |

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Shoura Council Khader Al-Quraishi has chaired a discussion with a Japanese delegation, headed by Charge d'Affaires in the Japanese Embassy in Riyadh Katsuhiko Takahashi at the council headquarters in Riyadh on Monday. The talks focused on strengthening parliamentary relations in order to open new areas of cooperation between the two countries. The chairman of the Saudi-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Committee of the council, Abdulrahman Haijan, also took part in the discussions.

The Japanese diplomats showed immense interest in understanding the composition, functions and the role of the Shoura Council in national development. One diplomat told Arab News that the program was initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman during his visit to Japan last year, when he was crown prince. During the tour, he said the two countries agreed to exchange visits of diplomats between the two countries.

During the visit in February last year, then Crown Prince Salman signed a number of agreements to enhance bilateral security and energy cooperation between Japan and the Kingdom. King Salman described Japan as a “friend” of Saudi Arabia and said that he wished the country and its people every success. He noted the strong relations between Riyadh and Tokyo, and commented on Japan’s concern for the Arab world.