Japanese PM begins two-day visit today
abu dhabi — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will begin his two-day UAE visit today, giving a new momentum to the deep-rooted relations over 46 years thanks to the determination of both countries’ leadership.
Japan was among the first world countries to cultivate diplomatic relations with the UAE, following the declaration of the Union in 1971. The UAE embassy opened in Tokyo in December 1971, with Japan following suit, and establishing its embassy in the Capital in April 1974.
Since then, the two countries’ officials engaged in a flurry of visit exchanges that was initiated by late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who paid a three-day visit to Japan in May 1990, during which he met Japan’s Emperor Akihito. In 2007, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, paid a three-day visit to Tokyo, and met the Japanese Emperor and Shinzo Abe, who in return reciprocated the visit in the same year.
Japan is now turning to be the UAE’s top trade partner with bilateral non-oil merchandise surging to around Dh53.5 billion, while Japanese investments in the UAE amounted to an equivalent of Dh14.3 billion.
In addition, the UAE has considerably benefited from Japan’s state-of-the-art technology with more than 100 Japanese firms now operating in the country.
The UAE is among Japan’s five top oil exporters, coming first on the list of countries exporting LNG, and second largest crude oil exporter in addition to being its eighth largest trade partner and the seventh largest market receiving Japan’s transport technology.
Space cooperation features prominently high in the relations between the two countries, with the UAE Space Agency and Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre having signed a MoU and contract with Japan to launch the ‘Hope Probe’.
Besides, tourism is providing immense impetus to bilateral relations, with the year 2014 seeing the number of Japanese tourists in the UAE increasing, while the number of Japan-bound Emiratis started to rise following the priorvisa waiver granted to UAE nationals on July 1, 2017.— Wam