By Miyoko Ishigami
TOKYO, April 22 (KUNA) -- As part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states' efforts to bolster dialogue and relations with Japan, "GCC Days in Japan" began here on Wednesday with some 300 officials and specialists from the both sides.
The three-day event in Tokyo, organized by the GCC General Secretariat, aims not only to discuss countries' issues and concerns, but also seeks to establish balanced dialogues in which each party respects its counterpart's views and visions.
GCC Days feature seminars on economic and media cooperation, and strengthening relations between six-member GCC countries and Japan, as well as open discussions over issues of mutual interests.
In his welcome speech, GCC Assistant Secretary-General for Cultural and Information Affairs Khalid Bin Salem Bin Mohammed Al-Ghassani asserted that Japan is one of GCC's most important trade partners, with the Japan-bound shipments accounting for 70 percent of the region's total exports.
"Many projects in the GCC involve Japanese companies and their activities have been increasing. The GCC enjoys good economic growth and we look forward more investment from Japan," he said.
"The Gulf States are eager to build economic structure, and we target to materialize enhanced economic relationship with Japan," Al-Ghassani from Oman noted. The GCC, established in 1981, comprises the six member countries -- Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
The Kuwaiti delegation led by Sheikh Nemer Fahad Al-Sabah, Ministry of Commerce and Industry Assistant Undersecretary for International Organizations and Foreign Trade, includes Kuwaiti Charge d'affaires Nael Al-Hayen and ministry's Head of the International Relations Section Abdulaziz Taqi.
During his presentation, Sheikh Nemer explained current state of economic cooperation between the GCC countries and Japan, and the ways to promote it. "Japanese companies have played very important roles in the GCC, in such sectors as petroleum, infrastructure, chemical, in addition to joint ventures," he said, expressing hope that such a bilateral relationship will continue and further develop.
Stressing that Japan is a very important existence for the GCC, Sheikh Nemer said key export items from the GCC to Japan include petroleum, while those from Japan to the Gulf region are mainly automobiles and machines.
In 2014, Kuwait accounted for 8.3 percent of the GCC's total trade value bound for Japan, he said.
Sheikh Nemer also shed light on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for GCC-Japan Strategic Dialogue signed in 2012, which he described "starting point," and said that based on the MoU, foreign ministers and senior officials from the two sides meet annually with highlighting five cooperative areas in mutual interest, namely, politics, trade and investment, health, environment and agriculture.
The official also touched on investment opportunities for direct investment in the GCC. "Investment in the GCC is on the rise, thanks to political stability, well-advanced infrastructures, flexible economic policies including free trade zones and joint ventures, legislative support to direct investment and tax preferential," Sheikh Nemer said.
For his part, the Cooperation Center for the Middle East President Kazuo Matsunaga underlined Japan's further contributions to economic challenges that the GCC is facing. "Under the philosophy of Collaboration, Coexistence, and Harmony and Tolerance, Japan shall contribute to the GCC's economic challenges by technological and capital strength of the Japanese economy and businesses," said Matsunaga. "Japanese businesses circle has its strength in energy sector, economic and social infrastructure, in addition to technical transfer and human development." Matsunaga also urged the GCC side to make investment climate more attractive to spur economic cooperation. The Tokyo gathering marks the 10th edition of the GCC Days, which were first launched in 2004 in Paris and have continued in Brussels, Berlin, The Hague, Madrid, Rome, London, Seoul and Stockholm.(end) mk.tg