Abu Dhabi is seeking to further boost ties with Japan as the emirate extends efforts to boost its non-oil trade, which has soared in recent years.
The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) and the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) on Thursday signed an initial agreement to deepen business relations and create new opportunities for collaboration.
This took place on the back of an announcement that Abu Dhabi non-oil exports increased by 86.4% over the past five years, which was said to demonstrate the impact of Abu Dhabi's efforts to expand partner trade.
The new agreement aims to promote long-term trade relations and boost growth, particularly in innovation, sustainability and advanced technologies, a statement from the chamber said.
The pact was signed during the Abu Dhabi-Japan Business Connect Forum in Tokyo, organised by the ADCCI to facilitate cross-border partnerships and support economic diversification. The UAE ambassador to Japan, Shihab Al Faheem, attended the signing.
The high-level forum brought together leaders representing public and private sectors from Abu Dhabi and Japan to explore investment opportunities in priority industries.
“Japan has played a pivotal role in shaping our development, from urban planning to industrial growth, and it remains one of our top trading partners," said Ahmed Al Zaabi, chairman of ADCCI.
The UAE and Japan have been boosting collaboration, with bilateral trade growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.9 per cent during the past five years.
The UAE's investments in Japan have more than doubled over the past five years, while it has attracted more than 80 per cent of Japanese investments in the Middle East, Mr Al Zaabi said.
"We are on the cusp of a new chapter, bolstered by the anticipated UAE–Japan Cepa and strengthened by rising trade and investment flows," he said.
Abu Dhabi has been focusing on diversifying its economy away from hydrocarbons, with non-oil trade growth a key part of the plan.
The emirate's non-oil foreign trade rose 9 per cent last year, reaching Dh306 billion ($83.3 billion), according to Abu Dhabi Customs.
Non-oil exports increased 16 per cent in 2024, re-exports grew by 11 per cent and imports rose by three per cent.
Compared to 2019, Abu Dhabi's non-oil exports have surged 86.4 per cent, and overall non-oil trade has risen by 44 per cent, "reflecting our commitment to enabling global business through regulatory reforms, ease of doing business, and seamless digital integration", Mr Al Zaabi said.
"Our infrastructure, business-friendly ecosystem, smart city and quality of life initiatives make us a magnet for global talent, entrepreneurs and investors," he said.
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Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
