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The UAE-Japan SME Platform was officially inaugurated in Abu Dhabi today in the presence of Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, and Hiroshige Seko, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The platform will support bilateral efforts to develop the vital small- and medium-sized enterprise, SME, sector. It was formed under the framework of the MoU signed by the UAE Ministry of Economy, MoE, and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI, in January 2017, concerning innovation and SMEs and the facilitation of communication and cooperation between the countries’ entrepreneurs.
The platform was inaugurated by the UAE Minister of Economy, and his Japanese counterpart in the presence of Abdullah Al Saleh, the MoE’s Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade and Industry, Osamu Mizui, Executive Vice President of the Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO, and Masami Ando, Managing Director of JETRO Dubai and MENA. Other senior government officials and entrepreneurs involved in the SME sectors of the UAE and Japan also attended.
Today’s inauguration ceremony also featured the signing of an MoU between JETRO and the Dubai Department of Economic Development as part of coordinated activities supporting the platform. Other MoUs are expected to be signed with the economic development departments of the other emirates to expand the platform’s framework and to enhance economic and trade relations between the parties.
Speaking on the occasion, Al Mansouri said that the UAE and Japan have formed an exemplary partnership based on mutually beneficial cooperation in the commercial and economic fields. He highlighted recent steps that have been taken to develop effective mechanisms and models for cooperation between the two countries by focusing on sectors of common interest, most notably SMEs.
He noted that the inauguration of the UAE-Japan SME Platform will support these efforts, facilitate communication and cooperation between Emirati and Japanese entrepreneurs, and encourage the establishment of trade and investment partnerships that will deepen bilateral relations and advance the development goals of both sides.
He pointed out that SMEs form the backbone of the UAE's economy, as it generates job opportunities, promotes competition, creates new industries, and drives sustainable economic growth.
He pointed out that there are more than 450,000 SMEs in the country, and that the national target is to raise the share of SMEs in the gross domestic product of the UAE to 70 percent by 2021. He went on to say that the launch of the UAE-Japan SME platform in the UAE aims to offer a wide range of opportunities for the private sectors and entrepreneurs of the partner countries, especially in the fields of innovation and high technology, which he referred to as "among the top priorities of the national vision’s approach to development".
The Japanese Minister said that the UAE-Japan SME platform will attract more Japanese businesses and entrepreneurs to the UAE, which will in turn deepen economic and trade partnerships between the two countries and open wider investment horizons within the coming years.
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