UAE, Japan foreign trade hits US$15bn

Abu Dhabi / WAM

The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Economy, participated in the sessions of 4th the Arab-Japanese Economic Forum, organised by the Arab League in cooperation with the Government of Japan, from May 4- 6, in Casablanca, Morocco.
The event was attended by high-profile representatives from Arab and Japanese governments, as well as representatives from the private sector.
Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Trade Affairs, stressed the importance of the forum, being a platform for the exchange and development of economic relations and investment, and the promotion of cooperation between the Arab and Japanese governments and economic communities, to build a true win-win partnerships.
He said on the sidelines of the event that the volume of trade exchange between the Arab countries and Japan exceeded $80 billion in 2015, accounting for 7 percent of Japan’s total foreign trade.
Al Kait noted that the UAE is ranked 10th globally and first in the Arab world as the major trade partner to Japan, adding that the UAE trade with Japan accounts for about 40 percent of total Arab trade with Japan.
With exception of oil exports, he continued, the UAE is still the top trade partner to Japan at the Arab level. The UAE foreign trade with Japan stood at about $15 billion in 2015, accounting for one third of non-oil trade with Japan.
The UAE official noted that these figures could increase in light of potential opportunities to build more partnerships in vital sectors of mutual interest.
Al Kait said Japan comes first in the list of the most important investors in the UAE, as its investments exceeded three percent of the total volume of foreign investment in the country by the end of 2014. Meanwhile the total UAE investments in Japan amounted to about $271 million at the end of 2014, accounting for 38% of the total investments of the Middle East countries, and the first at the Arab level.