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The Prime Minister in Action
Japan-Saudi Arabia Summit Meeting and Other Events
March 13, 2017
Photograph of the leaders shaking hands
Photograph of the Prime Minister welcoming the King of Saudi Arabia
Photograph of the salute and the guard of honor ceremony
Photograph of the salute and the guard of honor ceremony (2)
Photograph of the Japan-Saudi Arabia Summit Meeting
Photograph of the leaders attending the signing ceremony for the memorandum of cooperation
Photograph of the leaders attending the signing ceremony for the memorandum of cooperation (2)
Photograph of the leaders attending the signing ceremony for the memorandum of cooperation (3)
Photograph of the leaders attending the signing ceremony for the memorandum of cooperation (4)
Photograph of the Prime Minister delivering an address at the dinner banquet
Photograph of the Prime Minister delivering an address at the dinner banquet (2)
[Provisional Translation]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosted a summit meeting and other events with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two leaders attended a salute and ceremony by the guard of honor and then held a summit meeting. After that, the leaders attended a signing ceremony for a memorandum of cooperation.
Lastly, the Prime Minister hosted a banquet at the Prime Minister's Official Residence and said in his address,
“On behalf of the Japanese Government and Japanese people, I want to extend my heartfelt welcome to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to Japan. This visit marks the first visit to Japan by the King of Saudi Arabia in 46 years, since the visit by King Faisal in 1971.
I feel a deep connection to Saudi Arabia. My grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, made efforts to deepen the ties between Japan and Saudi Arabia. When he visited Saudi Arabia in 1970, he directly approached King Faisal about visiting Japan. When the King visited Japan, he had a meal with my grandfather at his private residence in Gotemba. I do not think it is by chance that I am now able to welcome the second visit to Japan by a King of Saudi Arabia.
Today we are writing a new page that will be etched in history. Today we created a vision for the future of the Japan-Saudi Arabia cooperative relationship, which is sure to last for a long time.
It is a pleasure that I, together with everyone who is contributing to the development of relations between Japan and Saudi Arabia in a wide-range of fields, including politics, the economy, and culture, can offer our hospitality to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King. I hope that this will be a night in which everyone will celebrate the friendship of our two countries, full of discussions on the promising future of that relationship.”
