Saudi-Japan Vision 2030
Building Strategic Partnership
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan have
developed strong diplomatic relations since
1955, when both countries first established
political ties. The two countries have gained
mutual benefits as Saudi Arabia has been the
largest and stable oil supplier for Japan, and
Japan has been one of the largest customers for
Saudi Arabia. Similarly, strong mutual ties were
developed through trade and transfer of high
quality products, technologies and projects.
Today, both FRXQWULHV are building on their
mutual trust developed through
understanding of each other’s culture to
deepen and broaden the existing bilateral
relations and establish a solid strategic
partnership.
In the spirit of mutual benefit and coprosperity, both FRXQWULHV have recognized the
importance to cooperate to realize their
respective visions. In September 1st, 2016,
HRH Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
decided to set up the Joint Group for
“Saudi-Japan Vision 2030 (SJV 2030)”,
heralding a new era of partnership between
the two FRXQWULHV.
The Joint Group
is chaired by
five ministries:
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning
(MEP), Ministry of Commerce and Investment
(MCI), and Ministry of Energy, Industry and
Mineral Resources (MEIM), and Japan’s Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The first
Joint Group meeting was held in Riyadh, on
October 9th 2016, headed by Eng. Adel M. Fakeih,
Minister of Economy and Planning, Dr. Majid Bin
Abdullah Al Kassabi, Minister of Commerce and
Investment and Eng. Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister
of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources from
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Mr. Hiroshige
Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
and Mr. Kentaro Sonoura, State Minister for
Foreign Affairs from Japan.
Saudi Sub-group
members
MEP: Ministry of Economy and Planning
MCI: Ministry of Commerce and Investment
MEIM: Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral
Resources
MOFA: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
SME Auth.: SME Authority
SAGIA: Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
MEWA: Ministry of Environment, Water and
Agriculture
MOHO: Ministry of Housing
MOT: Ministry of Transport
MCIT: Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology
TADAWL: Saudi Stock Exchange
SIDF: Saudi Industrial Development Fund
MOF: Ministry of Finance
ARAMCO: Saudi Aramco
KACST: King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology
NICDP: National Industrial Clusters Development
KACARE: King Abdullah City for Atomic and
Renewable Energy
SASO: Saudi Standards, Metrology
and Quality Organization
SEC: Saudi Electricity Company
MLSD: Ministry of Labour and Social Development
TVTC: Technical and Vocational Training
Corporation HRDF: Human Resource Development
Fund
SDB: Social Development Bank
MOE: Ministry of Education
SCTH: Saudi Commission for Tourism and National
Heritage
Japan Sub-group members
METI: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
MOFA: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
JCCME: Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East
JETRO: Japan External Trade Organization
MHLW: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
MLIT: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
MAFF: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
FSA: Financial Services Agency
MOF: Ministry of Finance
JBIC: Japan Bank for International Cooperation
INCJ: Innovation Network Cooperation of Japan
JPX: Japan Exchange Group, Inc.
ANRE: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
SMEA: Small and Medium Enterprise Agency
JICA: Japan International Cooperation Agency
MEXT: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology
Saudi-Japan Vision
2030 Statement, Pillars,
Themes and Enablers
Background
Overview of Saudi Vision 2030
Recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has unveiled
Vision 2030, an economic and social blueprint
aiming to reinforce and leverage the Kingdom’s
capabilities and unleashing its full strengths to
build a diversified and sustainable economy.
In Vision 2030, the Kingdom emphasizes its
objective to be the heart of Arab and Islamic
worlds, utilize its investment power to create a
more diverse and sustainable economy and to
capitalize on its strategic geographic location
to be an integral driver of international trade
by connecting three continents.
Saudi Arabia
aims to accomplish these strategic objectives
by focusing on three themes:
A vibrant society –
Protected by caring families and supported
by empowering social and healthcare
systems, a vibrant society living in
moderation and proud of its national
identity is a strong foundation for
economic prosperity.
A thriving economy –
By focusing on building an educational system
aligned with market needs, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and SMEs and developing
promising economic sectors, the Kingdom seeks
to ensure a thriving and diversified economy
An ambitious nation –
Building an effective, transparent, accountable, enabling and high-performing government helps develop the adequate environment for all stakeholders in the Saudi society
Vision 2030 will shape the future of Saudi
Arabia by transforming the Kingdom’s national
economy through a multitude of implementation
progress initiatives across various economic
sectors. Furthermore, the Kingdom aims
to revitalize its socio-cultural landscape by
focusing on ambitious initiatives in education,
tourism, sports and entertainment.
Overview of Japanese
Growth Strategy
Overview of Japanese
Growth Strategy
Government of
Japan unveiled a
comprehensive economic
policy package under the
name “Abenomics” to
sustainably revive the
Japanese economy while
maintaining fiscal discipline.
The program is centered on
the three “policy arrows”;
Japan introduced an
aggressive monetary policy, a
flexible fiscal policy as well
as the “Growth Strategy”
including structural reforms
to boost economic growth.
When reaching the “Growth
Strategy”, which targets
an annual GDP of JPY 600
trillion per year, in 2016,
the country defined three
requirements to achieve
its ambitious growth are
1)Strategic expansion into
additional “promising markets”
2)Boost employee productivity
to overcome supply
regulations and workforce
shortage resulting from a
decrease in population.
3) “Enhancing the capabilities
of individuals” to facilitate
a transformation of the
industrial structure
Ten strategic public-private projects are defined as
“promising markets”
by the Japanese
government, namely:
1.Facilitating the
transition towards the 4th
Industrial Revolution
2.Moving towards a world
leader in healthcare
research and development
3.Overcoming environmental
and energy-related
constraints while boosting
sector-related investments.
4.Developing the
sports sector into a
prospering industry
5.Introducing reforms
to revitalize the local
real estate market Facilitating productivity
increase in the
service industries Modernizing SMEs to .
comply with global standards Fostering expansion
into and export from the
local agricultural, forestry
and fishery sectors .Reinforcing tourism
as the centerpiece of
regional revitalization .Fostering public-private
cooperation to stimulate
domestic consumption.
The Japanese government
in parallel aims at providing
a favorable environment
for the realization of these
strategic projects by:
a)Introducing the
necessary regulatory and
institutional reforms
b)Fostering innovation and
promoting the development
of human resources; and
c)Supporting the economic
expansion into growing
markets outside the country.
Leveraging Synergies through the SaudiJapan Vision 2030
The Both countries are currently undergoing a
paradigm shift to realize robust
economic growth under the banner of
Saudi Vision 2030 and Japan’s Growth
Strategy, both of which are comprehensive
reform agendas with considerable level of
commonalities.
In view of the mutually
complementary relationship developed over
the years, enhancing cooperation between the
two countries has a substantial potential to
yield benefits which each country alone
would not be able to realize.
As Saudi Arabia seeks opportunities to
diversify and strengthen its economy by
capitalizing on advanced and cutting-edge
technologies, Japan is the ideal partner to
comprehensively contribute to this
development with its knowledge
capital, and technological
competitiveness.
Similarily, the Saudi-Japanese
cooperation would help the Japanese economy
identify and develop opportunities to further
upscale Japanese investments in Saudi Arabia,
thereby enabling an accelerated spin of the
positive economic cycle in Japan.
The mutually-beneficial economic relationship
would also inspire the two FRXQWULHV to
explore untapped opportunities in third
countries, particularly in MENA, Africa and
Asia. Both nations aspire through such
comprehensive collaboration to boost their
bilateral strategic partnership to the next
level
Driven by these fundamentals, Saudi Arabia and
Japan have decided to pursue a joint “SaudiJapan Vision 2030”,
To aims to achieve the
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Enablers to Facilitate the Vision
Organizational Support
Enhanced cooperation and communication
between agencies of Saudi Arabia and Japan
would help the business in both countries
to seize opportunities in mutually-beneficial
ways. Practical and effective solutions for this
purpose are worth examining by both countries.
Also, more efficient administrative operations
by organizations/agencies/public office would
be helpful for Japanese and Saudi businesses in
order to reduce time and complexity associated
with the overall implementation of various
projects.
Human Capital
Helping to build up the competitiveness of the
human capital in both countries would be a major
enabler to the establishment of businesses.
Intensified capability building, including training
and review of educational programs, would
support this process. Japan JICA, for example,
is working with several government entities
in Saudi Arabia to sharpen the overall human
capital development framework in the Kingdom.Other Incentives
Other suggestions include hosting joint events
and launching joint initiatives in all the themes of
this partnership. Such efforts are vital to raise
awareness around opportunities in Saudi Arabia
and Japan.