His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held official talks, in the presence of the two countries’ delegations.
On arrival at the headquarters of the Japanese Cabinet, HM the King was welcomed by the Japanese Premier.
At the beginning of the talks, the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda delivered a statement in which he praised HM the King’s visit, coinciding with the 40th anniversary since bilateral diplomatic relations were established, expressing his country’s desire to bolster its ties with Bahrain given its strategic location in the Gulf region and commitment to “serious reforms.”
HM King Hamad in a statement expressed delight at visiting friendly Japan at the invitation of Emperor Akihito and meeting the Japanese Prime Minister, conveying greetings and best wishes from the Bahraini people.
HM the King asserted that the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Bahraini-Japanese diplomatic ties provides the two countries with an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation, pointing out that cooperation in various fields, including the defence, trade and education, will be discussed on the sidelines of the visit.
During talks the two sides reviewed a Japanese plan to build Scientific Establishment in Bahrain in order to provide scientific and technological programmes and train Bahrainis on ways of availing of modern technology.
Another plan to develop, expand and increase the capacity of the Bahrain Refinery, at a total cost of $1.5billion, was also discussed.
The two sides also discussed cooperation in field of satellites in order to allow the kingdom to take advantage of Japan’s expertise in this regard.
After that, the two leaders attended the signing ceremonies of a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultation between the two countries’ Foreign Ministries, signed by the Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ryuji Yamane, and another on Defence Exchange, signed by Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the Japanese Administrative Vice-Minister of Defence of Hironori Kanazawa.