Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and Mohamed Bashir Ali Kurdi, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Japan, agreed Wednesday on the importance of a concerted international effort to combat terrorism, ministry officials said.
Tanaka, who invited Kurdi to the ministry for a meeting in the wake of terrorist attacks earlier this month in the U.S., said there is world consensus that terrorism should not be linked to Islam.
He told Tanaka it is important to cooperate with the U.S. in the fight against terrorism, but he also argued that innocent people should not be subject to harm, likely referring to an anticipated U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan targeted at Osama bin Laden.
Kurdi was quoted as saying that Saudi people believe it is wrong to take action that would threaten others. He added that the family of bin Laden, who has been stripped of his Saudi Arabian citizenship, is living safely in their home country.
Tanaka told Kurdi that Japan is planning to dispatch former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura as a special envoy to Saudi Arabia in the near future to meet with state leaders and seek aid for global efforts against terrorism.
Kurdi expressed hope that Komura's visit would contribute to further advancing bilateral cooperation in political, economic and various other fields, the officials said.
During the half-hour meeting, they also agreed on the importance of resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestinians, with Kurdi pointing out that a final and effective solution must be reached.
U.S. President George W. Bush has named militant Islamic fundamentalist Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian exile believed to be in hiding in Afghanistan, as the prime suspect behind the devastating Sept. 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington.