King Salman arrives in Japan

King Salman arrived in Japan on Sunday in the fourth leg of a seven-nation tour that started on February 26.

The King was received at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo by Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, Saudi Ambassador to Japan Ahmed Younis Al-Barrak, and officials of the Saudi Embassy.

He flew in from Indonesia, where he had a brief stay in Bali island following his official visits to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Jakarta and Brunei Darussalam.

King Salman will meet with Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit. His tour is the first by a Saudi king since the 1971 visit by then-King Faisal. King Salman himself last visited Japan in 2014 as a crown prince.

Saudi Arabia is the largest provider of oil exports for Japan, which relies on Middle East for energy to power the world’s third largest economy.

Japan hopes to use the visit to widen its relations with Saudi Arabia and help the country’s efforts to diversify its economy, including exploring ways to increase Japanese investments in non-energy sectors such as manufacturing, according to officials.

Expected discussions also include a range of bilateral and regional issues, conflicts in the Middle East, Saudi-Japanese cooperation within the framework of the Vision 2030, and commercial partnership with special reference to the Saudi Aramco IPO.

On Wednesday, the King and his delegation will proceed to China, followed by Maldives and Jordan.

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