Bilateral trade between the UAE and Japan reached $30.5 billion in 2021. Emirates’ exports to Japan rose to $26 billion, while Japan’s imports increased to $6.5 billion.
This was revealed during the eighth session of the Abu Dhabi-Japan Economic Council (ADJEC) co-chaired by Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Nobuyori Kodaira, President of Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East (JCCME).Â
Addressing the session held virtually on Wednesday, Al Shorafa said Japan is among Abu Dhabi’s largest trading partners. He urged Japanese investors and entrepreneurs to benefit from investments opportunities in Abu Dhabi and the suitable business environment to thrive and enhance relations.
“More than 340 Japanese companies have their bases in the UAE working in various sectors including infrastructure, industry, and energy,” Al Shorafa said.
“Since the 7th session of ADJEC in October 2020, good progress was made to strengthen cooperation in various areas including Agritech, health services, biomedicine, ICT, financial services, and tourism,” he added..
Kodaira in his address said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Japan – UAE diplomatic relationship. “Our bilateral relations predate the diplomatic records as Japan started crude oil imports from Abu Dhabi in 1962,” said Kodaira.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) and Sumitomo Corporation, and joint group discussions focused on key sectors, including sustainable energy, infrastructure, education, and human resources.
Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) presented ways of creating business opportunities in the new environment, while Japanese counterpart presented cooperation opportunities in innovation. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) presented its views on cooperation toward the era of carbon neutral and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry presented Asia energy transition initiative.