Saudi minister hails ‘special relationship’ with Japan

Saudi Minister for Commerce and Investment Majid Al-Qasabi. (AN photo)
Updated 24 October 2019
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Saudi minister hails ‘special relationship’ with Japan

  • “We share common values,” says Japan’s Defense Minister Taro Kono

TOKYO: Saudi Arabia has a “special relationship” with Japan, which is “reliable strategic partner and friend” of the Kingdom, the Saudi Minister for Commerce and Investment Majid Al-Qasabi said on Monday.

The minister was speaking at the launch in Tokyo of the Japanese-language online edition of Arab News, in the latest stage of its global expansion. The event came on the eve of Tuesday’s ceremonial enthronement of Emperor Naruhito in the Japanese capital. “This is a great opportunity, a moment in history,” Al-Qasabi said.

The news website, published in Japanese and English, will focus on enabling the exchange of information between Japan and the Arab world in business, current affairs, and arts and culture. “It will be good to have news in Japanese so many Japanese can read about the Arab world,” Japan’s Defense Minister Taro Kono said at the launch.

Common values

“We share common values, we have a high respect for the elders and we think that the family is very important … to me we are friends and I think we need to work together.

“In order to do that we need to know what people in the Middle East are actually thinking, what is happening on a daily basis, and we haven’t got the source for that — but now Arab News is in Japan.

“This is a very good means to exchange information between the Middle East and Japan, so I am very much looking forward to it.”


Scouts record 45,000 volunteer hours serving pilgrims at Grand Mosque in Ramadan

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Scouts record 45,000 volunteer hours serving pilgrims at Grand Mosque in Ramadan

  • Volunteers guide pilgrims, organize prayers areas, distribute water
  • 600 young men and women scouts will work until end of Ramadan

RIYADH: Volunteers participating in the Umrah service camp supervised by the Saudi Arabian Scouts Association at the Grand Mosque in Makkah have contributed over 45,000 hours during the first half of Ramadan.

Six-hundred young men and women scouts, representing various teams across the Kingdom, participated in the camp’s activities, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

They helped to guide pilgrims, organize prayer areas, support security and service personnel, care for children, and provide water and fragrances in the Grand Mosque and its courtyards.

The scouts supported the General Authority for the Care of the Two Holy Mosques and the public security sectors.

Three-hundred scouts participated in guidance and orientation with 22,500 hours, while 180 scouts assisted with public security services for 13,500 hours.

Sixty scouts who participated in the organization of prayer areas recorded 4,500 volunteer hours.

Additionally, 30 scouts participated in the Little Pilgrim Initiative, which focuses on caring for the children of pilgrims while their parents perform Umrah, contributing 2,250 hours.

In support services, 15 scouts participated in the water distribution initiative, contributing 675 hours.

Another 15 scouts contributed to the fragrance distribution initiative in the corridors and courtyards of the Grand Mosque, achieving 1,125 hours.

Camp leader Ziyad Qadir said the services of the scouts would continue until the end of Ramadan. He said the camps develop a sense of social responsibility and national belonging among young people.