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”,

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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.