Japan, Saudi Arabia sign memorandum on water business

TOKYO, Sept. 19 Kyodo -
Japan and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum on Sunday on Japan's cooperation in infrastructure building for water business in the Middle Eastern country, Japanese government officials said Monday.
Tadahiro Matsushita, vice minister of economy, trade and industry, who is currently visiting Saudi Arabia signed the memo, the officials said.
Amid a rapid population growth and urbanization, Riyadh is suffering from chronic water shortages, and construction of infrastructure for water supply and sewage continues to be an important task for Saudi Arabia.
Japan intends to promote the export of its infrastructure building technology and know-how as one of the pillars of its economic growth strategy, and has been proactively seeking to obtain orders from Saudi Arabia for a packaged project, which includes the construction of a water treatment facility, its operation and maintenance, according to the officials.
With the latest development, Japan intends to give a boost to Japanese businesses seeking to make a foray into Saudi Arabia's water business market, they added.
The memorandum includes technological cooperation on building water and sewage systems, as well as holding regular conferences to develop human resources and exchange information on the matter.
The Japanese and Saudi governments have been holding regular talks on such infrastructure building for water business since 2010.

2011-09-19 21:19:55