The Japanese Embassy in Riyadh is organizing a goodwill tour for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Training Squadron to the Kingdom. The squadron will visit the Red Sea port of Jeddah for goodwill, and the visit will be from July 14 to 17, the embassy said on Thursday. The mission of this cruise is to give onboard training to the newly commissioned officers and to strengthen the bilateral ties between Japan and Saudi Arabia. The visiting squadron is commanded by Rear Admiral Hiroyuki IZUMI and the crew numbers 590 personnel, including 190 officer trainees. There will be two ships under his command including Training Vessel Kashima and Destroyer Makinami. The program will include a welcoming ceremony at the port, opening the hip to Japanese residents in the Kingdom for their visit, an onboard reception co-hosted by Rear Admiral Izumi and Japanese Consulate General in Jeddah Miyamoto, a sports exchange with the Royal Saudi Navy, a historical and cultural tour in Jeddah for the crewmembers and a farewell ceremony. Saudi Arabia and Japan share a very cordial relationship. Their bilateral relations are witnessing significant development and the two countries are increasingly identifying common interests following the historic visit of King Salman to Japan during his Asian tour last year. The visit gave a significant boost to the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030 in terms of realizing its objectives of bolstering bilateral cooperation and sustainable development in the two countries.