RIYADH: The Saudi Shoura Council’s joint Saudi-Japanese and Saudi-German parliamentary friendship committees held separate meetings with the ambassadors of Japan and Germany in Riyadh recently, discussing ways to strengthen bilateral ties, especially at the parliamentary level. Headed by its chairman, Osama bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, the Saudi-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Committee held a meeting on Sunday with the Japanese ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Iwai Fumio, who was accompanied by a number of Japanese Embassy officials. During the meeting, the two sides stressed the importance of enhancing joint bilateral cooperation between the two countries in all fields. The meeting affirmed the existence of many areas that strengthen and develop the relations, most notably at the parliamentary level between the two parliamentary chambers in Saudi Arabia and Japan. The Japanese ambassador praised the developments witnessed by the Kingdom in various fields, stressing the keenness of his country’s government to develop and strengthen bilateral relations and activate mutual visits between the two countries to further enhance cooperation. After the meeting the envoy tweeted: "I had the honor to meet with members of the Saudi-Japanese Parliamentary Friendship Committee in the esteemed Shoura Council and we exchanged views on the existing relations between our two friendly countries in various fields and ways to strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation.” On Sunday, the Saudi-German Parliamentary Friendship Committee, headed by its chairman, Hazza bin Bakr Al-Qahtani, held a meeting with German Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dieter Lamle. The meeting discussed issues of common interest between the two countries in various fields, including parliamentary cooperation. The two chairmen also highlighted the role and work mechanism of the Shoura Council and presented an overview of the role played by the council’s various parliamentary friendship committees in strengthening ties with friendly countries at the diplomatic level.