A delegation of 24 Japanese small business representatives held talks on possible partnerships with members of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Tuesday.

The businesspeople are part of a larger 40-member trade delegation currently visiting the country. They included four members of the Japanese parliament headed by Toru Shiraishi, from the country's House of Representatives.

Ziad Al-Bassam, vice chairman of the JCCI, welcomed the delegation and said that interactions between Saudi Arabia and Japan started during the era of King Abdulaziz and was strengthened by Saudi students studying in Japan.

Al-Bassam said Saudi Arabia welcomed Japanese technology. Firms from that country included Sumitomo and others that had invested in various projects including PetroRabigh. The volume of trade between the two countries stood at SR214 billion. He said a survey by Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that Saudi Arabia was among the top 20 countries favored by Japanese investors.

He hoped that the volume and movement of trade would increase through the visits of such delegations. He gave the businesspeople assurances that the JCCI would provide them help in their activities.

Matahiro Yamaguchi, consul general of Japan, thanked the JCCI and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority for holding the meeting. He said that there are 4.3 million small and medium enterprises (SME) in Japan representing 99.7 percent of the total number of firms in that country.

Yamaguchi said Crown Prince Salman, who recently visited Japan, had agreed with the Prime Minister of Japan to cooperate on promoting SME activities in the Kingdom.

Shiraishi said that meetings were held with Abdulaziz Turkistani, ambassador of the Kingdom in Japan, to promote investment in the Kingdom. He said Saudi Arabia was a very important country for Japan and he hoped to see more cooperation between the two nations.

Muhyiddin Hakami, assistant secretary general of the JCCI, said that the JCCI had held many matchmaking sessions for foreign delegations over the past few weeks, but this one was by far the most significant because of the good opportunities for both sides.