Arab News Japan

DUBAI: The Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), UAE’s Ministry of Economy, Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) participated on Tuesday in the UAE-Japan-Israel Innovation Forum.

This is the first initiative by the three countries and indicated the potentials of innovative collaboration in the future. The online forum attracted over 500 businesspersons from not only the three countries, but also other nations.

Nobuhiko Sasaki, chairman & CEO of JETRO, opened the forum with his remarks, and highlighted strengths of the three nations. He emphasized that the the presence of Japanese companies in ASEAN countries is more than the presence of the US and China, which will be one of the values for Emirati and Israeli companies.

Koichi Hagiuda, Japan’s METI Minister, celebrated the anniversaries of Japan with both the UAE and Israel. The long-term relations are leveraged by government initiatives such as “Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships Initiative (CSPI)” and “Japan Israel Innovation Network (JIIN).”

Hagiuda said he expected that the collaborations of the three countries would contribute to solutions to global challenges such as healthcare and would take the lead in the global innovative competition.

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade said he expected the UAE’s new initiative “UAE Industry 4.0” will encourage digital transformation and attract investment from Israel and Japan to UAE.

Al Zeyoudi indicated the cooperation between UAE, Israel and Japan creates many opportunities especially in specific sectors such as agriculture, bio medicine and advanced manufacturing. He added that startups play a very important role for future collaborations.

Dr. Ron Malka, Israel’s Director-General of Ministry of Economy and Industry, said: “The Ministry of Economy and Industry is working vigorously to strengthen and expand the volume of trade, both with Japan and with the UAE. Alongside the extensive activity in the bilateral channels, we are interested in promoting opportunities and initiatives in a trilateral manner, in sectors and areas of interest relevant to Japan, the UAE and Israel, alike.”

In the keynote speech, Nickolay Mladenov, Director of Research and Analysis Department at Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, shared his comprehensive insights on economic potential of Abraham Accords, and pointed out opportunities of business collaborations expand to Asia, EU and Africa beyond the region.

The first panel focused on opportunities created by the three countries. Officials of the respective ministries explained government initiatives and confirmed their collaboration would be beneficial for neighboring countries in Middle East. Some sectors such as cleantech, smart agriculture, smart cities, and healthcare are highlighted as prominent sectors.

The forum allowed private sectors to consider Japan as a gateway for Asian market as well. The second panel discussion was about creating a new business through innovative collaborations by private companies. Executives of companies doing business in the three countries shared their experience and knowledge as case studies. This panel confirmed business opportunities would go beyond the region and expand to Asia or Africa.