The UAE Ministry of Economy officials recently signed a deal with its Japanese counterparts on key aspects concerning innovation and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the UAE.

The agreement aims to promote joint initiatives, knowledge and technology transfer, exchange of experiences, and the streamlining of business operations of SMEs across the country, said a statement from the ministry.

The initiative is in line with the ministry’s agenda for enhancing and expanding this important sector so that it can better support the national economy and raise the UAE’s regional and international competitiveness, it said.

The memorandum was signed by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy and Hiroshige Seko, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Also present at the signing ceremony were Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry; Juma Mohammed Al Kait, UAE assistant undersecretary for Foreign Trade; Abdulla Sultan Alfan Alshamsi, assistant undersecretary for Industrial Affairs, and a number of senior ministry officials.

The Japanese delegation comprised Kanji Fujiki, ambassador of Japan to the UAE, and a number of Japanese economic officials and diplomats.

Moreover, another agreement was signed between the RAK Investment Authority (Rakia) and Takenaka Middle East, on the sidelines of the event for setting up a joint venture manufacturing plant for anti-rust material in the emirate.

Yasser Abdullah Al Ahmad, head of government and institutional relations for Rakia, signed the memorandum.

Al Mansoori said that the economic relations between the UAE and Japan serves as an important model of joint cooperation characterised by a clear vision and pioneering development plans aimed at realising the aspirations of the two countries.

He also noted that SMEs form an important sector with the potential to significantly increase cooperation as a vital element of the business and economic agendas of both countries.

Al Mansoori pointed out that the SME sector currently accounts for more than 60 per cent of the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) and that the country is keen to further expand this figure to around 70 per cent by 2021 under the national agenda.

He also referred to innovation as a key driver for the sector, apart from being one of the country’s pillars for sustainable development.

Additionally, the UAE official explained that the close ties between the UAE and Japan are reflected in the continued growth of trade volume between the two countries particularly in recent years.

According to him, Japan was the UAE’s sixth largest trading partner in 2015, with their total bilateral non-oil foreign trade put at $14.7 billion.

Non-oil foreign trade during the first half of 2016 stood at around $7.1 billion, he added.-TradeArabia News Service