The Japan Times Tuesday,december4,2012 5

UAE national day

Keiichiro OkabePresident, jaPan-Uae sOciety

On the occa-sion of the 41stanniversary ofthe founding ofthe uae, I offermy cordial con-gratulations toPresident H.H.sheikh KhalifabinZayedal-Nahyan,membersoftheFederalsupremecouncilandthepeopleoftheuae.

sincethefoundingofthena-tion in 1971, the country hasimproved itssocialstabilityandhas enjoyed robust economicgrowth under the nation-build-ing ideals and wise leadershipofthelatePresidentH.H.sheikh

Zayed bin sultan al-Nahyan,the uaes founding father, andof President H.H. sheikh Khal-ifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, evenwhile the middle east has beenexperiencing turbulent change.Our country almost completelydepends on overseas exportsforoilandnaturalgases,andinthisregardtheuaeisoneofthemainsuppliersofsuchresourcestoourcountry,andtherelation-shipbetweenJapanandtheuaehaveestablishedstrongeconom-icinterdependenceaslongtime,importanteconomicpartnerstoeach other. In addition, Japanandtheuaehavebeendeepen-ing mutual understanding, yearby year, through the promotionand exchanges and relations invarious areas, including in cul-

ture, education, tourism, andsports.Toprovideoneexample,directflightsbetweenJapananduae have been increasing, andstarting next year, etihad air-waysandemirateswillbeginof-feringdirectflightsfromHanedaairport in Tokyo. We hope thatsuch developments will furtherexpandinterpersonalexchangesbetweenthetwocountries.

On behalf of the Japan-uaesociety,Ialsovisittheuaesev-eral times a year, and have thegreatopportunitytomeetmem-bersofthegovernmentincludingPresident H.H. sheikh KhalifabinZayedal-Nahyan.Thegrandinitiativesthattheleadersoftheuae advance the enhance-ment of energy technology, di-versification of domestic indus-

tries,andfosteringthegrowthofhumancapitalhaveallmovedme deeply as greatly visionaryinitiatives that stem from long-term country planning. In re-gard to these above-mentionedinitiatives,IbelievethatthereareplentyofpossibilitieswherebothJapanspublicandprivatesectorcanprovidethetechnologyandknowhowtocooperateandcon-tribute toward helping the uaeachievethosegoals.

The Japan-uae society alsohopesthat,throughthecoopera-tion of our corporate members,wewillbecomeabridgebetweentheuaeandJapan.Ionceagainexpressmyearnesthopeforthefurtherprosperityoftheuaeandevenmoreintimatebilateralrela-tionsbetweenthetwocountries.

deepening interpersonal exchanges between the two countries

coinciding with the third session of the international renewable energy agency (irena) General assembly, taking place in abu dhabi, the United arab emirates will host abu dhabi sustainability Week from jan. 13 to 17, 2013, comprised of related events as follows:

International Renewable Energy Agency General Assemblyjan. 13-14, 2013, in abu dhabiWorld Future Energy Summit 2013jan. 15-17, 2013, at abu dhabi national exhibition center (adnec)ADIREC 2013jan. 15-17, 2013, at adnecinternational Water Summit 2013jan. 15-17, 2013, at adnecThe Zayed Future Energy Prize Awards Ceremonyjan. 15, 2013, at emirates PalaceFor more information, visit www.abudhabisustainabilityweek.com.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week

yasuo FukudacHairMan, tHe jaPan-Uae ParLiaMentary FriendsHiP LeaGUe

On behalf of the japan-Uae Parliamentary Friendship League, may i offer some words on the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the United arab emirates. i offer my heartfelt congratulations

on the increasing progress and prosperity of the Uae under the outstanding leadership of President H.H. sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-nahyan.

the relationship between our countries has been continuing to grow. the cooperative relationship in oil has continued for over 40 years, and many people have been going back and forth between our countries. such strong interpersonal networks have laid the

cornerstone for successful cooperation in a wide range of fields including education, investment and renewable energy.

in tokyo in February and abu dhabi in november, the japan-abu dhabi economic council was held, participated by business executives of both countries. in October, our countries reached a basic agreement on a bilateral tax treaty, which had been a long-standing issue. it is expected that mutual investment between our countries will expand further.

in december, urasenke chado tea ceremony master sen Genshitsu is planning to visit abu dhabi to hold a tea ceremony. i also heard that yuko Hasegawa, the chief curator of the Museum of contemporary art tokyo, has been invited to sharjah Biennial 11, an international art exhibition in sharjah, Uae, in March. exchange in art and culture is also deepening between our countries.

in addition, the World Future energy summit, one of the worlds largest

international conferences on renewable energy, and the international Water summit will be held in abu dhabi in january. it is expected more and more japanese companies will do business in Uae from now on.

etihad airways and emirates will be able to fly to and from Haneda airport in tokyo from next summer. that will further expand bilateral cooperation in tourism and human exchange. We, the japan-Uae Parliamentary Friendship League, are very happy for that.

i believe the relationship between japan and the Uae will continue to become increasingly intimate. On this occasion of the Uaes 41st anniversary, may i also take this opportunity to express my sincere hope that japan and the Uae will continue to develop, in particular with the earnest efforts of the people of both countries. in this regard, the japan-Uae Parliamentary Friendship League is prepared to continue to offer its support in whatever ways it can.

Bilateral relationship will continue to become more intimate

saeed ali al-nowaisaMBassadOr OF tHe United araB eMirates

Ontheveryauspiciousoccasionof the 41st anniversary of uaesNational day,I am honoredand privilegedto convey, onbehalf of thegovernmentandpeople of theuae, my heart-felt greetingsandgoodwishestoTheirImperi-almajestiesemperorakihitoandempress michiko, the govern-mentandthegreatpeopleofJa-pan.Ialsoextendmyheartfeltfe-licitationstoH.H.sheikhKhalifabin Zayed al Nahyan, presidentof the uae, ruler of abu dhabi,andH.H.sheikhmohammedbinrashid al maktoum, vice presi-dent,primeministerandrulerofdubai,andtoT.H.themembersof the Federal supreme councilandrulersoftheemirates.

sincetheinaugurationofdip-lomatic relations almost fourdecades ago, the strong ties be-tween our two countries havecontinued to witness substan-tial progress. despite the verydifficult year, characterized bya slowdown in the global econ-omy, coupled with last yearsearthquake,bothcountrieshavesuccessfully managed to boostbilateral trade during 2011, up

by37.5percent,risingfrom$36.6billionin2010,to$50.4billionin2011, making the uae occupyninthplaceamongJapanstrad-ing partners. The overall pic-ture of bilateral trade seems tobe very bright and promising.Thetotalvalueoftradegrewbyaround 8 percent to $40.15 bil-lionduringthefirstninemonthsofthisyear,comparedto$37.22billioninthecorrespondingpe-riodlastyear.Thesefiguresprovethatoursolidbondscanendureanytypeofchallenge.

This year again, the relation-shipbetweentheuaeandJapanhas been marked by a series ofmomentous events. In January,ForeignministerKoichiroGenbavisitedtheuaeandhadfruitfultalks with senior governmentofficials including H.H. sheikhabdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan,uaes foreign minister. duringhis stay, he visited masdar city,now under construction at theoutskirts of abu dhabi at theinitiativeofmasdar,abudhabismultifaceted renewable energycompany. masdar is currentlycollaborating with various lead-ingJapanesecompaniesfortech-nicalcooperation.

TheabudhabisustainabilityWeek(adsW)willbehostedbymasdarinabudhabiinJanuary2013. The five conferences andrelated events will focus on thepressing issues such as: energy,water and environment, which

are fundamental requirementsof sustainable development.These gatherings will increaseour countrys position as a rec-ognized global leader commit-ted to a sustainable future. Wewelcome many of the partici-pants from Japanese concernedauthorities and companies toadsW.

Our bilateral relationship alsoextends into the field of highereducation. Five uae studentsfromthemasdarInstituteofsci-ence and Technology (mIsT), agraduate-levelinstitutiondedicat-edtoalternativeenergyandsus-tainabletechnologies,completedtheirinternshipssupportedbytheeconomyministry(meTI)atJap-anese companies. I believe thatthissortofprogramcandeveloptheir overall capabilities andequip them with the right skillstobefull-fledgedprofessionals.Istronglyhopethattherewillcomea day when they will apply thenewfound knowledge and skillstotheadvantageoftheircountry.

most recently, the Japan abudhabi economic Forum host-ed its second meeting in abudhabi lastmonth, followingthefirstmemorablemeetingheldinTokyoinFebruaryofthisyear.Ittruly indicates a bilateral desireto develop areas of coopera-tionandcommoninterestswiththe view of achieving our com-mon goals. The meeting, whichbroughttogetherabout150par-

ticipants from the governmentsandprivatesectorsofbothcoun-tries, discussed a wide range ofissues on top of which was theprospect of deepening eco-nomic ties, promoting bilateraltrade, investments and buildingcommongroundfor theprivatesectorofabudhabiandJapan.

It is a real pleasure for meto inform you that the aviationauthorities of the uae and Ja-pan concluded an bilateral airserviceagreementthisyearthatallows emirates airline and eti-hadairways,ournationalcarri-ers, to increase their services toJapan.Fromsummer2013,bothairlineswilllaunchdirectflightsto Haneda airport in Tokyo, aswell as increasing the numberof flights to Narita airport nearTokyo to 14 per week, with theobjective of meeting the robustdemand for air travel betweenour two countries. The numberof passengers of both emiratesand etihad airlines, which hadreached 220,000 in 2009 and370,000 passengers in 2010,jumped to 410,000 passengersin 2011, according to JapansFinance ministry. Our nationalcarriers have been demonstrat-ingthesuccessoftheirbusinessmodel in the Japanese marketsincetheirinaugurations.

It is worth noting that theuae and Japan reached an ini-tial agreement on avoidance ofdouble taxation on income and

preventionofmonetaryevasioninOctober.bothcountrieshaveconducted negotiations towardsigningtheagreementsinceNo-vember2006inordertocreateadistinctive climate to acceleratemutual economic exchanges.Itshopedthatthemovementofcapital,investmentsandtechnol-ogyaswellastrade,tourismandair transport between the uaeand Japan will be facilitated af-terratificationbytheauthoritiesconcernedinbothcountries..

In terms of the uaes econ-omy, it is expected to grow by3.5 percent to 4 percent during2012, an impressive achieve-ment at a time of growing dif-ficulties for the global economyand the political changes in themiddleeast,becauseourcoun-try isoneof themostpoliticallystable countries in the regionand a relatively safe destinationfortourismandinvestment.

Oilandgasremain,ofcourse,of enormous importance touaes industry. Our countryhas the seventh largest provenreserves of both oil and naturalgasintheworld,withthemajor-ityofthereservesinabudhabi.bymid-2012,theemiratesdailyoil production reached 2.8 bil-lionbarrelsaday,andatargetedproductionof3millionbpdhasbeensetfortheendoftheyear.

The uae boasts its positionas a stable, secure and reliablesupplierofenergytoJapan.Theuae has further maintained itsposition as the second largestoil supplier to Japan, providingitwithalmost23.8percentofitstotaloilimports.also,themajor-ityof liquefiednaturalgasship-mentsgo to Japanandtheuaeis now considered to be Japansseventh largest LNG exporter.besidesoilandgas,ourcountryhasrankedsixthamongthelarg-estaluminumsupplierstoJapan.

Given its strategic location,greater stability and attrac-tivebusinessenvironment,theuae is becoming a favorablehomeanddestinationtomajorJapanese companies operating

in the region. There are 380Japanese companies and over3,000 Japanese residents livingin the uae, representing thelargest Japanese communityin the middle east and africacombined.

Now,Iwouldliketoseizethisopportunity to request a favorof the friendly Japanese people.The uae is working hard andmobilizing all its potentials tohost the World expo 2020 indubai. you are well aware thatdubai is more than capable ofhosting such a gigantic eventgiven its excellent facilities andinfrastructures. We, therefore,kindlyseekJapanssupportandbackinginrealizingourendeav-ortowardhostingthissignificantworld-classevent.

In terms of foreign policy,theuaehasalwaysmaintainedthree fundamental principles;that is to say the noninterfer-ence in the internal affairs ofother countries, good neigh-borlyrelationsandpeacefulap-proachandsolutiontointerna-tional problems. This last prin-ciple has been applied to theissue of our occupied islandswhere the uae is advocating asolutionbasedonmutualnego-tiationsorareferraltotheInter-nationalcourtofJustice.(IcJ)

I am proud and thoroughlysatisfied with the diligent and

determined efforts of our twocountries to strengthen anddeepen the mutual relations,which are steadily producingvisibleandremarkableresultsinvariousfields.Ihavetheutmostpleasure to extend my sincere

gratitude to Japanese organiza-tions that have been workingrelentlessly to elevate our bilat-eralrelations.Finally,Iwishthepeople of both uae and Japanmanymoreyearsofsustainableprogressandprosperity.

agreements bring japan closer to the emirates

Effort: The official logo of the UAEs bid to host the World Expo 2020. For more information, visit the website http://expo2020dubai.ae.en. eMBassy OF tHe United araB eMirates

International: The cover of the official booklet of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. eMBassy OF tHe United araB eMirates

PAGE: 5