UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) Undersecretary H.E. Eng. Mohammed Ahmed Ben Abdulaziz Alshihhi recently met with a delegation from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications headed by Director General for Policy Coordination Mr. Tetsuo Yamakawa at the Ministry's Abu Dhabi headquarters. Discussions centered on enhanced bilateral economic relations and intensified joint cooperation in the ICT field.

H.E. Alshihhi noted the evolving relations between the UAE and Japan in various fields, particularly in the economic and investment sectors, pointing to the position of the UAE as the main trading partner of Japan in the Middle East. He also discussed the technological developments achieved by the UAE over the past years in line with the economic growth attained by the country in various sectors. The MoE official explained that the rate of spending on information technology in the UAE has grown significantly over the past years in conjunction with the country's transition towards a knowledge economy.

The Undersecretary added that the growth rate of spending on information technology rose by 23 per cent in 2007 to hit AED 1.86 billion, and aired his expectation that this figure would increase by 15 per cent in 2008.

H.E. Alshihhi welcomed the cooperation of Japanese partners in further expanding the growth sector and boosting government efforts to harmonize public and private ICT infrastructure development activities and thus meet growing consumer demands. Both parties agreed to enhance communications so as to identify possible areas of cooperation in the technology and communications sectors.

The Japanese official emphasized his country's eagerness to further strengthen economic and ICT cooperation with the UAE, praising the technological progress achieved by the Emirates and its strategic movement towards a knowledge economy. Japanese delegates delivered presentations on the latest technological advances in digital broadcasting systems, mobile phones systems, and other communications segments in Japan.

The meeting was also attended by Dr. Ayman Ibrahim, Advisor to the UAE Ministry of Economy; Aref Al Farra, Economic Expert; and several other officials. UAE-Japan relations have been steadily progressing over the past years; non-oil trade between the two countries in particular have shown impressive growth, increasing from AED 11 billion in 2002 to around AED 22 billion in 2006. Japan currently has 55 companies, 211 commercial agencies, and 2,758 trademarks registered under the UAE Ministry of Economy.