Staff writer
Japan will conclude an investment protection pact with Saudi Arabia to help encourage Japanese private investment in the world's largest oil-exporting nation, government officials said Oct. 17.
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will agree with Saudi Arabian leaders to begin negotiations on the pact as soon as possible when he visits the Middle East country early next month, the officials said on condition that they not be named. Hashimoto is to make a four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, his first as prime minister, starting Nov. 7 for talks with King Fahd and other Saudi Arabian leaders on bilateral economic cooperation and the fragile Middle East peace process.