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Saudi Crown Prince Salman in Japan to discuss bilateral relations | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito (R) accompanies Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud as he arrives at Haneda airport in Tokyo February 18, 2014. (Reuters/Yuya Shino)


Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito (R) accompanies Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud as he arrives at Haneda airport in Tokyo February 18, 2014.  (Reuters/Yuya Shino)

Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito (R) accompanies Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud as he arrives at Haneda airport in Tokyo on February 18, 2014. (Reuters/Yuya Shino)

Islamabad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, as part of an official visit to Japan during which he will discuss strengthening Saudi–Japanese bilateral relations on all levels.

Crown Prince Salman concluded his visit to Pakistan with a number of high-level meetings and discussions with senior officials. During the Crown Prince’s visit, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed two economic agreements. The first agreement will see Riyadh provide 125 million US dollars in credit for Pakistan to import fertilizer from Saudi Arabia. Under the second deal, Saudi Arabia will provide an additional loan of 57.8 million US dollars to finance the construction of the Golen Gol hydroelectricity project at Mastuj River in Chitral.

Crown Prince Salman also met with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The two sides reviewed the prospects for future Saudi–Pakistani cooperation, in addition to discussing regional and international developments.

The Saudi Crown Prince had earlier met with Pakistani army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Rashad Mahmood to discuss defense cooperation and regional security.

An official joint Saudi–Pakistani statement was issued on Monday. Both sides confirmed that work to strengthen and consolidate political relations between Riyadh and Islamabad is ongoing. The two sides also committed to holding regular bilateral consultations between the Pakistani and Saudi foreign ministries. Both sides agreed the necessity of strengthening defense cooperation, in addition to the need to find a quick solution to the Syrian crisis based on the Geneva Communiqué, in order to restore peace and security to the country. On this basis, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan issued a joint call for all foreign fighters to immediately withdraw from Syrian territory.

Additional reporting by Musaid Al-Zayani