The inaugural Dubai-Osaka Economic Partnership Forum 2005, held recently in Osaka, Japan, has generated tremendous response from Japanese investors looking to tap the Middle East markets, with leading Japanese companies expressing keen interest in setting up operations in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza). The forum was attended by a diverse spectrum of blue chip Japanese companies from the manufacturing, electronics, real estate, infrastructure, construction, tourism and finance sector, with a large percentage hailing from the industrial sector. The first Dubai-Osaka Economic Partnership Forum hosted a series of trade talks and seminars with the aim of increasing economic cooperation between the UAE and Japan. During the course of the event, H. E. Saeed Al-Nouais, UAE ambassador to Japan, invited all delegates to a reception hosted at the UAE embassy. Present at the reception were senior officials including Qassim Sultan, director general, dubai municipality and Abdulrahman Al-Motawi, director general, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and senior Jafza officials including Salma Hareb, CEO of Jafza, Ibrahim Al-Janahi, vice president, commercial sales in Jafza, Jamal ibn Marghoob, manager for the Asia and Pacific region and Gota Akai, Jafza representative in Japan.
