Japanese emperor’s birthday celebrated in Jeddah

Masayuki Miyamoto, consul general of Japan, held a national day reception at his residence in Jeddah on Thursday to celebrate the 84th birthday of Japanese Emperor Akhito.

The reception was attended by government officials headed by Jamal Bakr Balkheour, director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Region, as well as other consuls general in Jeddah, businessmen and prominent guests.

After playing the national anthems of Japan and Saudi Arabia, Miyamoto delivered a speech in which he welcomed the guests and stressed the excellent ties between Japan and the Kingdom. He said the two countries enjoy deep, strong and friendly relations based on mutual respect and appreciation, not only between the two peoples and the governments, but also the imperial and royal families of the two countries.

Miyamoto said that Japan had much interest in the Kingdom’s current developments in all fields, led by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Japan was one of the first countries that announced its support for Crown Prince Mohammed’s comprehensive plan, Saudi Vision 2030, the consul general said.

Japan has started to offer its expertise in various fields such as energy, water, infrastructure, metro and train projects, culture, entertainment, sports and other development projects in the Kingdom.

Miyamoto expressed his deep gratitude to the Saudi people for their hospitality and warm welcome to him since he arrived in Jeddah earlier this year. He expressed happiness for his return to the country, as he had started his diplomatic career at the Embassy of Japan in Riyadh 30 years ago.

He expressed hope that the mutual relations will develop further to meet the expectations of the leaders of the two friendly countries and that the Kingdom enjoys more progress, prosperity and growth under the leadership of King Salman.