Japan-UAE Business Forum commemorating visit to Japan by Economic Minister

September 2015

On September 29, JETRO and the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates together hosted the Japan-UAE Business Forum on the occasion of a visit to Japan by a UAE business delegation. The event drew 147 participants from companies and organizations related to fields such as manufacturing, finance and trade.

Chairman Ishige together with the delegation of Minister Mansouri

MOU signing ceremony

During opening remarks, JETRO Chairman Hiroyuki Ishige mentioned that on top of the speed of the economic recuperative power demonstrated by the UAE, which managed to successfully ride out the financial crisis, the country has a tourist industry in prime condition and is planning on hosting the 2020 World’s Fair in Dubai. For these reasons, he said, JETRO has dedicated itself to supporting Japanese companies by helping them to participate in various exhibitions in the UAE, dispatching missions to the country and providing them with UAE-related business information.

From the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Nobuaki Ito, Deputy Director-General for International Trade Policy, cited how Japan and the UAE have maintained friendly economic relations centered on energy over many years, and that, in recent years, economic ties between the two countries are growing stronger through projects such as that for the Dubai Metro. While touching on the immense popularity of Japanese products in the UAE, he also added that the Japanese government hopes to further boost the excellent business relationship between the countries which has come to be symbolized by such trends.

In his keynote speech, Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy of the UAE, spoke on the current state of his country’s economy and expressed his hopes for the further investment and promotion of technological transfer by Japanese companies related to its policy for fostering small- to medium-sized enterprises that are attempting to diversify business operations.