Welcome to the JCCME website:

My name is MIYANAGA Shunichi and I have just been inaugurated as the 9th Chairman of the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME).

I pledge to do my utmost to promote the further development of the relationships between Japan and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) which have been steadily built through the tremendous efforts of everyone involved. In these endeavors, I ask for your continuing cooperation and support.

As you are aware, now that ten years have passed since the turmoil of the Arab Spring, the MENA countries are facing various challenges amid major structural changes with a heightened sense of uncertainty about the future, particularly from the geopolitical perspective.

In addition to social mobility and the uncertain outlook for oil prices, combined with the damage to economies and resource exports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the longstanding issues of “economic diversification”, “social infrastructure development”, and “human resource development and employment creation for the increasing numbers of young people” have become even more important.

At the same time, with population growth and social change, we have come to recognize new challenges such as food security, education, and medical and health care.

Furthermore, as the world has taken major steps in recent years toward carbon neutrality to counteract climate change, initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, such as the introduction of renewable energy and green hydrogen and ammonia development, have become new and urgent issues for the MENA countries.

Amidst all these changes, the MENA countries continue to be important providers of resources for Japan.

I believe that investment by Japanese companies that can solve the wide-ranging problems of the highly important MENA countries and enable them to respond to change is not only a business opportunity for the companies of Japan and these countries, but also has great significance in contributing to the public security and development of the MENA countries.

JCCME has worked diligently to build multilayered relationships with the MENA countries. We have, however, come to a point where we should once again consider the meaning of “multilayered.”

For the upcoming 50th anniversary of JCCME, we remain deeply grateful for the tremendous efforts of the many people who have worked tirelessly for and together with JCCME to strengthen the relationship between the MENA countries and Japan. At the same time, we will closely watch and respond to the new changes that will occur over the next 50 years. In order to further play our role as a catalyst between the MENA countries and Japan, and between the public and private sectors, JCCME will fulfill its daily responsibilities with a renewed determination.

In these endeavors, I sincerely ask for your continuing support and guidance.

MIYANAGA Shunichi
Chairman,
Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East
November 2021

Welcome to the JCCME website:

Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) was founded in October 1973 in the midst of the first oil crisis, by the joint efforts of the public and private sectors of Japan, as a non-profit incorporated foundation authorized by the then Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

At the time of the establishment of JCCME, there was a passionate conviction by the then leaders from the business community that it would become more significant for Japan to build a favorable and multifaceted cooperative relationship with oil producing countries in the Middle East as an important source of energy supply to Japan, with an aim to secure stable economic development and guarantee an affluent life, as Japan has few domestic energy resources, most of which relies on imports from overseas.

Inheriting the said conviction for around half a century, JCCME has been working on the development of a multi-layered relationship that does not limited to the stable supply of energy resources to Japan alone, mainly focusing on the promotion of the trade and investment and the support of human resource development in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. To date, JCCME has been engaged in a broad range of support activities by providing a number of Japanese companies/organizations with information on investment environment, dispatched/received investment promotion missions, conducted feasibility studies, and offered a number of training opportunities, technical transfer and human resource development.

Currently, it seems that geopolitical risks in the MENA countries have been increasing significantly, due to withdrawal by USA from JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) and re-imposition of crippling economic sanctions on Iran, confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and endless conflict situation in Syria. On the other hand, in the MENA countries where a total of approximately 600 million population are breathed, the proportion of young people is generally high, and there is a huge demand for infrastructure systems critical to the economic growth and job creation. Among others, oil producing counties that strives hard for “economic diversification” as set one of the national goals have been expressed much expectations for Japan’s cooperation.

In order to meet such expectations from the MENA countries, it becomes more and more important to contribute to the stability of the region through the Japan’s cooperation toward the realization of economic diversification and growth, building a solid relationship　as well. On the basis of the support activities over the past decades, JCCME will make all out endeavors to conduct the following three (3) vital missions successfully so as to contribute toward (a) promotion of the investment that serves to economic diversification, (b) support for the facilitation of "high quality infrastructure system" to be the basis of economic growth and (c) human resource development, in the MENA countries.

We are more determined than ever to work on as a catalyst between public and private sectors of the MENA countries and Japan to achieve the above missions.

Your continued support would be highly appreciated.
With our best regards,