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Article: Saudi Arabia the target as Japan refines regional strategy: Japan's most important regional initiative calls for new industrial ventures in Saudi Arabia. Middle East opportunity knocks for the second largest economy in the world.(THE LAST WORD)
- Article from:
- MEED Middle East Economic Digest
- Article date:
- August 31, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 MEED Middle East Economic Digest. All Rights Reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Fifty years ago, in December 1957, Japanese business decisively entered the markets of the Middle East for the first time. Since then, Japan has been the Gulf's largest customer for crude oil and the Middle East has bought more Japanese goods than any other region. In 2006, the value of GCC-Japan trade was almost $100,000 million, making Tokyo the GCC's leading trading partner.
The background to the 1957 breakthrough was political. The previous autumn, Britain and France conspired with Israel to attack Egypt. Arab oil exporters imposed embargoes. The US insisted that London and Paris withdrew. Washington has since been the dominant foreign power in the Middle ...