RIYADH, 16 June — Japan has proposed setting up of a special desk at the headquarters of the General Investment Authority in Riyadh to encourage Japanese investment in the Kingdom. This was announced here yesterday after a visit of a Japanese economic mission organized by the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME).
“Japan has agreed to depute some investment and financial experts to GIA to help boost investment relations between the two countries,” said a statement released by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), which has a regional office in Riyadh.
The move is significant in view of the fact that the Kingdom and other Gulf states have been seeking increased Japanese capital and technology transfer to the region.
Total Japanese investment in Saudi Arabia exceeds SR21.7 billion. The country is the largest importer of Saudi goods including oil and the second largest trading partner of the Kingdom after the United States. The volume of trade stands at SR56 billion annually.
The proposal to set up the GIA desk was made after talks between the Japanese economic delegation and senior Saudi officials. The Japanese mission, jointly led by Jiro Nemoto, JCCME chairman, and Yoshiyuki Fujisawa, Saudi-Japanese Business Council co-chairman, also discussed several proposals for cooperation with officials from the ministries of petroleum and mineral resources, commerce and planning.
The JETRO statement said JCCME had agreed to host special training courses in Japan for young Saudis in the fields of productivity enhancement, environment and IT-related industries. This will be in addition to the JCCME’ splan to promote establishment of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) between the two countries.
Several private sector companies in the two countries are currently working on new joint-venture proposals. Two business houses, one from Japan and another from the Kingdom, have recently set up an SR184-million garment factory in the Ahsa Industrial City.
