Japan is one of the most important business destinations. In spring 2017, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Étienne Schneider, paid a visit exclusively dedicated to the space sector. For this next edition, it will be a strong Luxembourg delegation that will travel to the “Land of the Rising Sun” for a “multi-sectoral” economic mission which will take place from November 26 to December 1, 2017.
The audio visual (in particular cartoons), automotive, ICT, logistics, sustainable finance, space and tourism sectors will be at the heart of the delegation’s concerns, which will be led by Étienne Schneider and his counterpart, Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna, accompanied by the Secretary of State for the Economy, Francine Closener.
With a GDP of 5,106 billion dollars (source: IMF) in 2017, Japan ranks 3rd among the richest economies, behind the US (19.377 billion) and China (12.362 billion) and contributes about 20% to the global R & D budget.
In the midst of an economic revival over the last decade, Japan, which has profoundly revised its business model and internationalisation strategy, is looking for high-quality products and innovative services in many sectors most notably automotive, ICT, nanotechnology, energy, environment and life sciences .
During this mission, there will be a general presentation of Luxembourg and the advantages of its economy which will also be attended by the Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Carlo Thelen.
Throughout the four days of the mission, workshops will be organised around the themes of logistics, ICT and tourism. More specifically, Pierre Gramegna will participate in a conference on sustainable finance, while Étienne Schneider will be attending a conference on space mining and space commercialisation.
A specific « Digital Economy » seminar will also take place. This conference, animated by David Foy, Head of Sector Development, Digital Economy, Luxinnovation, will bring together high level players in Digital Economy from both countries and encourage knowledge sharing and networking between Corporate Executives, Departmental Heads and Technology Managers. Through presentations and discussions on highly relevant topics such as big data, High Performance Computing, connected cars and devices, you will learn about the current state-of-the-art innovation in Japan and Luxembourg and how this work will enhance our lives in the future.
Visits are also planned to the world headquarters of FANUC Corporation (with its European headquarters in Luxembourg) and the Toyota research center, as well as at the International Robot Exhibition (Irex) and System Control Fair.