Dubai delegation visits Osaka

Discussions in this regard were held during a recent visit of a high-level delegation comprising officials from various government departments in Dubai to Osaka. The visit came as part of a twinning agreement signed by both the cities in October 2002.

"The visit evoked tremendous positive response and opened up various channels of co-operation from which Dubai will be able to benefit from the latest Japanese technology in different municipal and medical fields," said Qassim Sultan, Director General, Dubai Municipality

"We will be exploring the possibilities for setting up a research institute in Dubai on the lines of the Kansai Institute of Research and Technology, which we visited during our stay in Osaka from 12-15 April," he said, adding that the University City in Al Rowayya is a suitable for setting up such an institute.

Sultan said that Dubai Municipality would try to get maximum benefits from the twinning agreement it has signed with the Prefecture of Osaka.

The agreement provides for cooperation between Dubai and Osaka in the fields of tourism, commerce, economy and technology by holding commercial exhibitions for the various products and participating in the exhibitions held in the two cities, and encouragement of commercial and industrial investment.

It also seeks to enhance exchange of visits between delegates from the two cities, exchange of experts and technical consultancy, participation in conferences, meetings and scientific seminars organized by the two cities.

He said that Dubai would be hosting the mayors of 12 major cities that have signed such agreements with Dubai during the Sister Cities Forum, which will be held in the city during 15-17 May 2004. Osaka will be hosting the Forum after two years.

Commenting on the positive results of the visit to Osaka, Sultan said the Municipality delegation was briefed on various projects in different fields, mainly in the areas of public transport, public health and medicine and technology.

Eng. Mattar Al Tayer, Assistant Director General for Roads and General Projects Affairs said the visit gave us an insight into the functioning of Kansai Institute of Research and Technology, which is considered to be one of the best such institutes in the world.

"It is an independent academic institution that links the universities and educational institutions with the companies and establishments. This is what is needed by the Arab countries," said Al Tayer.

He said the delegation was also briefed about the mono rail system in Osaka, which will be beneficial for getting more ideas for the Rail Project in Dubai.

Mohammed AbdulKareem Julfar, Assistant Director General for Finance and Properties Affairs said the field visits to various areas in Osaka has helped understand the Japanese style of functioning in the fields ranging from roads to technology and medical science to environment friendly projects and recreational projects.

Julfar said many of the members of the delegation visited the Aquarium in Osaka, which is built nine metres deep with plastic glasses 30 cm thick. The Aquarium, which has 5.4 tonnes of water is filled with a wide variety of fish and marine wealth.

Abdullah Rafeeu, Assistant Director General for Environment and Public Health Affairs said the visit will help exchange of expertise in many fields, especially science and technology.

Eng. Nasser Saeed, Director of Roads Department said the visit helped in getting innovative ideas used by the city of Osaka, especially in the area of building roads and bridges.

Saeed said Osaka is famous for building multi-layer roads and bridges, which in some places reached four layers. "They have a 31-km mono rail system for mass transport, which transports around 300 million people annually.

Eng. Munther Akram Juma, Director of Public Relations and Organisations Department said the visit to Osaka also comes as part of the efforts to enhance external relations, which Dubai Municipality is keen to develop with different cities of the world in order to benefit from the experiences and expertise of these cities in different fields.

Juma said that Dubai Municipality has developed, with the support of the Director General, a strong network of international relations by signing co-operation agreements with 12 cities in different continents.

Khalid Mohammed Badri, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Organisations Department said that these kinds of visits are very important as it helps enhance co-operation and activate exchange of expertise in the field of trade, economics and tourism.