Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura expressed, on Sunday, his country’s support for the Palestinian government’s efforts to develop the Palestinian economy, especially the Jericho Agro-Industrial Zone project implemented with the support of the Japanese government.
During a joint meeting with the Minister of National Economy, Khaled Asseily, organized in the Jericho Agro-Industrial Zone, the Japanese Minister stressed the strengthening of cooperation and the provision of facilities in training and exchange of experiences between them.
He pointed out the importance of establishing partnerships between the Japanese private sector and its Palestinian counterpart, and striving to enable Palestine to obtain commercial agencies in the interest of the Palestinian economy, expressing his happiness at the rapid development of the industrial zone and the production capacity of factories and their products.
The Japanese Minister stated that building partnerships with more than 15 Japanese startup companies interested in building partnerships with the Palestinian sector in several fields will be proposed, in addition to inviting Japanese companies to establish partnerships and invest in Palestine.
He stated that there is an upcoming visit to 13 Japanese companies specialized in the field of information technology, to learn about the reality of this promising sector in Palestine.
Minister Yasutoshi referred to an initiative to establish a Palestinian-Japanese business forum in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
He stressed the continuation of Japanese support for the Jericho Agricultural Industrial City, and the continuation of Japanese support for the exclusive road construction project, which connects the Jericho Agricultural Industrial City with the Jordanian side.
In turn, Minister Al-Asili expressed his thanks and great appreciation to the Japanese government for the support provided to Palestine in various fields, especially the agricultural industrial city of Jericho, which is one of the landmarks and evidence of the distinguished bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The minister presented his Japanese counterpart with a picture of the latest developments in the Jericho Agro-Industrial Zone and its developments, which includes 16 productive factories in the field of agricultural and food industries and their supplements, and currently 10 factories under construction, while the volume of investments in the industrial zone reached about 40 million dollars.
He stressed the importance of developing trade and holding more joint meetings between Palestinian and Japanese businessmen, stressing the importance of institutionalizing the bilateral relationship through developing a memorandum of understanding. He also thanked the Japanese side for the support provided by JICA in particular in providing training programs and building the capabilities of small and medium-sized companies, to help them in Entry into Japanese markets.
He also stressed Palestine's participation in Expo Japan 2025, with the importance of facilitating the participation of the Palestinian private sector in this global forum.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to develop and strengthen economic cooperation relations, and enable Palestinian products to access Japanese markets, in addition to the possibility of harmonizing product certificates and quality standards to facilitate the export process.
In the context of the visit, the two ministers discussed, with a delegation of Palestinian and Japanese businessmen, joint projects, and studied the possibilities of increasing economic cooperation and contracting partnerships with Japanese companies in the future, mutual visits between them, and the obstacles they face.
The Japanese Minister welcomed the private sector's proposal to organize a student exchange program between Japan and Palestine.
Minister Asseily and his Japanese counterpart, who is heading a delegation of Japanese businessmen, toured the Palestinian Business Development and Prosperity Center, which provides quality services to micro, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs in Jericho and the Jordan Valley.
It is worth noting that in 2006, former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi launched the “Peace and Prosperity Corridor” initiative to promote economic and social development and the independence of the Palestinian economy, and the Jericho Agro-Industrial Zone is one of the main components of this initiative
Source: Maan News Agency