Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Japan Faisal H. Trad on Tuesday praised Japan's relationship with his country.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='140' ALIGN='right' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='/images/photos2005/nn20050119b1a.jpg' WIDTH='140' HEIGHT='175'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Faisal H. Trad </B></FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>The two countries 'enjoy a very healthy and strong strategic relationship,' especially since signing documents for a closer partnership on the occasion of Crown Prince Abdullah's visit to Japan in 1998, he said during a visit to The Japan Times.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Ninety percent of Japan's energy supply comes from the Islamic world, 70 percent of which comes from Arabic countries and 27 percent from Saudi Arabia.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Various events are planned to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan this year, including an Arabic calligraphy competition on Feb. 19, a meeting of the Saudi Arabia-Japan Business Council in March and a ceremonial reception on April 12 with an Imperial presence, he said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Trad said of the Israel-Palestine issue, 'Japan as a political and economic power should involve –

directly in the peace process. We want Japan and the international community to join us, putting enough pressure on Israel to go back to the peace process.

"Unless the Israeli side comes to the sense of understanding that peace is more important than violence or hostile activities, it is very difficult to ask (Palestinian Authority President) Mr. (Mahmoud) Abbas alone" to put an end to the violence.

He also said that the Iraqi interim government must "facilitate all the means and ways" to make sure that all Iraqis, irrespective of their religious or ethnic background, can join the upcoming Iraqi elections to ensure representation.