(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) DP World, UAE Region received a delegation from the Japanese Business Council, or JBC, in Dubai, and briefed its members on the current plans to expand capacity at the flagship Jebel Ali Port.
Mohammed Al Muallem, senior vice-president and managing director of DP World, UAE region welcomed the delegation. Talks focused on ways to improve supply chain efficiencies in line with Jebel Ali's current expansion projects which will add five million TEU of container capacity, raising Jebel Ali's total capacity to 19 million TEU by 2014.
The meeting was attended by officials from DP World, UAE Region, Dubai Customs, Economic Zones World and Dubai Trade, as well as 40 JBC members, including representatives of major Japanese companies based in Dubai such as Mitsubishi, Komatsu, Nissan, Bridgestone, Yamaha, Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Metal One Corporation, Sojitz Corporation, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Kamigumi, Marubeni-Itochu and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, among others.
"The exchange of ideas and knowledge that we had with the Japanese Business Council will help us understand our customers' emerging needs and deliver added value to our services. We thank the business leaders for visiting Jebel Ali Port, which serves as the gateway to their operations across the Middle East and Africa," Al Muallem said.
"Our talks with DP World were very fruitful and it is the desire of the Japanese Business Council to further strengthen the already excellent trade relationship between Japan and the UAE, which hosts around 270 Japanese companies including many based in Dubai," said Hisataka Takao, chairman of Jafza Committee of the JBC and managing director of Komatsu ME.
According to the Japan External Trade Organisation, bilateral trade between the UAE and Japan continued to grow last year, with a 58.37 per cent increase in volume to reach 50.3 billion, raising the UAE to ninth place among the largest trade partners of Japan.
