Businesses from Saudi and Japan signed more than 30 MoUs at the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030 business forum, Reuters reports. The agreements span energy, manufacturing, and other sectors. The forum, which took place in Tokyo yesterday with over 300 industry officials and leaders from the two countries, went forward despite the absence of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Speaking of which: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman confirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to providing Japan with a stable supply of its crude during a virtual meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. Kishida offered thanks and added that he expects Saudi to continue to play a leading role in the stability of the global oil market “including through further production increases,” according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry statement. The two leaders also discussed cooperation on clean energy — including green hydrogen and ammonia — and other fields.

THE AGREEMENTS-

SPPC + Marubeni: Saudi Power Procurement Company signed two power purchase agreements with a consortium led by investment conglomerate Marubeni to purchase power from the AlGhat (600 MW) and Wa’ad Alshamal (500 MW) wind projects, state news agency SPA reports.

Locally made manga: Manga Arabia — a subsidiary of media giant Saudi Research and Media Group’s (SRMG) — launched Manga International as part of its international expansion with Japan as its official headquarters, state news agency SPA reported. SRMG CEO Jomana Al Rashid said the move comes under efforts to expand overseas through partnerships with leading global manga publishers and communicate the Saudi and Arab culture through manga comics.

ALSO- The agreements signed include MoUs between Aramco and Japanese refiner Eneos Holdings and leading Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho along with renewables giant Acwa Power, according to Reuters, which provided no further details. Marubeni also plans to set up a wind farm project in Saudi, the newswire reports, citing a statement from the Japanese Trade Ministry.

Pitching more investments in Saudi from Japan: Investment Minister Khaled Al Falih highlighted the importance of the Kingdom’s booming non-oil sector, saying that it has “doubled and is looking for an accumulated investment of over USD 3 tn that offers big chances to the Japanese,” Arab News reported. Saudi has a “bubble of projects as it will host Expo 2030 in Riyadh,” Al Falih said, highlighting potential investments for Japanese companies on the back of Saudi hosting the 2034 World Cup and the 2029 Asian Winter Games in Neom.

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