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Japanese Official Lauds UAE Role in Ensuring Regional Stability

ABU DHABI - Japan maintains very strong ties with the UAE, not only in the energy sector but also in the financial, manufacturing and other sectors, Kazuo Kodama, Press Secretary and Director-General for Press and Public Relations at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said here on Saturday.

He was talking to reporters after a meeting between Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hirofumi Nakasone, on the sidelines of the Forum for the Future.

The Japanese Minister thanked the UAE for its partnership for co-hosting the 5^th edition of the Forum for the Future, which concluded here yesterday with the participation of foreign ministers and senior officials from 38 countries including the G-8 members.

Kodama said that the meeting between the two ministers gives impetus to bilateral relations and partnership for development and regional stability. Nakasone appreciated Shaikh Abdullah’s role to restore stability in the region by personally visiting Iraq twice.

He said that Shaikh Abdullah described Japan as a close friend and business partner, and also appreciated its activities in the UN Security Council.

Kodama said that Japan and the UAE have agreed to work together for an early agreement on double taxation between the two countries.

The UAE is seriously considering to finalising the draft taxation treaty which was discussed during the meeting between the two ministers.

He added that Japan was also holding talks for concluding a Free-Trade Agreement with the GCC.

He said that the number of Japanese expatriates in the UAE, at 2,800, and the number of Japanese companies represented in the UAE, at 250, were the largest in the Middle East. He said that the UAE was the second largest oil exporter to Japan after Saudi Arabia.

Kodama said that during the meeting Nakasone appreciated the UAE for co-chairing the meeting of the ‘Friends of Pakistan’ in the US on September 26. Japan believes that the civilian democratic government in Pakistan should be supported to win the war on terror.

“The war on terror will fail, if we fail. Therefore, the two sides agreed to continue to work to support Pakistan government in the Friends of Pakistan meeting,” Kodama said.

Kodama said that Japan would invite Palestinian and Israeli leaders for talks in Japan and the date for the purpose would be finalised after consultations. “Although Japan is neither a direct stake holder in the issue nor a part of the Troica, it has been active, on its own, in approaching the Israeli and Palestinian governments to move forward,” Kodama told reporters.

“Ours is not a cheque book diplomacy, we want economic stability in Palestine. We want tangible results. Therefore, we have taken the Corridor for Peace and Prosperity initiative as its mid-and long-term effort to generate hope and trust among the peoples in the region for future co-existence and co-prosperity between Israel and Palestine,” he said.

He said that the initiative aims at contributing to creating a viable Palestinian economy based on private sector activities, through establishing an ago-industrial park in the West bank and facilitating transportation of goods from the West Bank to, among others, the Gulf states via Jordan.

qudoos@khaleejtimes.com