Address by Mr. John McGuinness, TD, Minister for International Trade, at a meeting with the Vice President of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., at Mitsui Head Office, Tokyo, Japan

Wednesday 14^th January 2009

It is a great honour to meet President Utsuda and Vice President Abe of Mitsui & Co, especially as your company is one of the largest and most successful trading companies in the World.

Irish people are familiar with Mitsui, not only because of your worldwide reputation but also because of your presence in Dublin.

As you know, a trade mission of 70 Irish companies is visiting Japan with our Prime Minister this week. This is an indication of Ireland’s commitment to developing stronger trade relationships with Japan, which we believe will become an even more important player in the global economy over the coming years.

Irish companies are dynamic and characterised by a high level of innovation and flexibility. We believe that there is growing opportunity for their products and services in the Japanese market.

As you may be aware, Ireland is investing heavily in technology and innovation. We see this as a crucial investment for our future. The Irish government encourages collaboration in R&D and will support R&D activities between international companies and Irish companies and universities. We hope that more Japanese companies, including Mitsui, will take the opportunity to collaborate with Ireland in this way.

I understand that Mitsui’s vision is to be a global business enabler. I sincerely hope that through collaboration in business and R&D, Ireland can be a part of your vision.

ENDS/TC356