Arabian Oil Company, Ltd.

Since the start-up of oil production in the offshore Divided Zone in early 1960s, Arabian Oil Company,Ltd. (AOC) has long been playing the role as a bridge between Japan and Kuwait, and Japan and Saudi Arabia in various fields, such as economic and technical cooperation, promotion of friendship and cultural exchange and deepening of understanding about the Arab world in Japan.

AOC set up as one of founders Japan-Saudi Arabia Society in 1960 and Japan-Kuwait Society in 1965 to promote friendly relations and cultural exchanges between Japan and each of the two nations, and has been supporting the activities of these two Societies.

The Societies publish their bulletins of “danah” and “sadaqah” for Japan-Kuwait Society and Japan-Saudi Arabia Society respectively. They provide valuable and interesting news and information on each of the Arab countries as well as introduction of history and culture of Islam.

A series of other Societies' publications, all translated into Japanese, contribute to deeper understanding of the Arab and Islam in the Japanese community.

The Societies have also been offering Arabic language courses for more than 30 years to popularize Arabic in Japan, helping those who are interested in the Arab countries as well as scholars and researchers who are engaged in the Arab/Islam studies.

◆Office of Japan-Kuwait Society and Japan-Saudi Arabia Society
　c/o Arabian Oil Co., Ltd.
　　　　Tennozu Parkside Building
　　　　5-8, Higashishinagawa 2-chome, Shinagawa-ku
　　　　Tokyo, 140-0002 Japan
　　　　Tel: 81-3-5463-5076 Fax: 81-3-5463-5043

AOC took the initiative in founding the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) in 1973, under the sponsorship of the Japanese government, as an organization to promote Japan's economic and technical cooperation with the Middle East countries. Since then, AOC has been playing a leading role in JCCME's activities by assignment of its personnel to JCCME .

JCCME has been contributing to economic development of the Middle East countries, by promoting Japan's investment and transfer of technology to those countries. For this purpose, JCCME frequently holds international conferences, seminars, lecture meetings and investment promotion events or sends missions for economic cooperation or research & survey.

It is remarkable that in recent years, the Japanese-Kuwaiti Businessmen's Committee and the Japan-Saudi Business Council Joint Meeting meet once a year alternately in Japan and Kuwait, and in Japan and Saudi Arabia under the joint auspices of JCCME and its partners of both countries with the aim of exploring business chances for joint ventures between Japanese firms and those of the two Gulf states. As a bridge between Japan and the two countries, AOC has spared no efforts for successful dialogue through these two meetings.

JAPANESE-KUWAITI BUSINESSMEN'S COMMITTEE

JAPAN-SAUDI BUSINESS COUNCIL

As a contribution in science and technology, AOC established Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) in 1967. Even after the transfer of KISR to the Kuwait government in 1972, AOC continued to support KISR for exchange of technology and manpower between KISR and the Japanese counterparts. Nowadays, KISR has gained its reputation as a leading research institute in the Gulf area. KISR presently undertakes the most advanced studies and researches and extends its research area to applied science for modernization of industry, protection of environment and development & conservation of natural resources.

Petroleum Research Center of KISR

For Saudi Arabia, AOC often helped organizing joint seminars and studies on technologies in various spheres by and between Japanese organizations and Saudi partners such as King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST).

For the past 50 years, AOC has taken an active part in implementing various culture exchange programs for and VIP visits to and from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, hoping that those programs and visits will contribute to the enhancement of mutual understanding and friendly relationship.

One of the most outstanding examples among the programs was "MEET KUWAIT 98" which was held successfully in Tokyo in October 1998. This special event, attended by H.E. Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (the present Amir of Kuwait) as the head of the Kuwaiti delegation, was the largest ever scale to enhance the understanding about Kuwait in the Japanese community.

OPENING CEREMONY OF MEET KUWAIT 98

Furthermore, when the Saudi Arabian national football team participated in the World Cup 2002 football games held in Japan and Korea, AOC and Japan-Saudi Arabia Society promoted the understanding about Saudi Arabia in Japan thorough the various events welcoming the Saudi team in collaboration with citizens of Chofu city of Tokyo, which was "host city" or "camp site" taking care of the Saudi Arabian delegation.

The participation of the Saudi team in the World Cup 2002 football games gave Japanese people the best chance to know more about the Kingdom that was known in Japan merely as "the country of desert or the world largest oil producer." This special occasion made the distant country of Saudi Arabia even closer to Japanese people.

The visits of royal families also deepened the mutual understanding. A few examples of these visits in the recent years are;

-Japan's H.I.H Crown Prince Naruhito & H.I.H. Crown Princess Masako to Saudi Arabia including Al-Khafji, the AOC's operational base (1994) and to Kuwait (1995).

-Kuwait's Amir, H.H. Shaikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to Japan (1995).

-Kuwait's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (the present Amir of Kuwait) to Japan (1998).

-Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, H.R.H. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (the present Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques King of Saudi Arabia) to Japan (1998).

-Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, H.R.H. Sultan bin Abdulaziz to Japan (2006)

On the occasion of the visit to Japan by Saudi Crown Prince, H.R.H. Sultan bin Abdulaziz in April 2006, Keiichi Konaga, Senior Corporate Advisor (now Special Assistant to President) of AOC Holdings, Inc. had the honor to meet the Crown Prince as the Chairman of Japan-Saudi Arabia Society (now Advisor) together with the executive officers of several major corporate members of the Society.

When Chairman Konaga referred, in his welcome speech, to the Crown Prince's first visit to Japan in 1960 as Minister of Transportation and Communications on the occasion of the Society's foundation ceremony, Crown Prince recalled it with deep emotion and expressed his hope that the Society will play more important role into the future as a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Japan. Crown Prince also gave words to the members of the Society one by one, wishing that the relationship of the two countries will be further strengthened in the various fields, such as energy, industrialization and investment to the Kingdom and human resources development.

In this way, AOC, in cooperation with the government authorities concerned and Japan-Kuwait or Japan-Saudi Arabia Societies, has supported the visits of VIPs and the various events to promote friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and these two Gulf countries.