BUSAN (Yonhap News) ― The chambers of commerce from Korea and Japan on Tuesday called for closer economic cooperation and investment in the face of growing global uncertainties.

At the sixth bilateral chamber of commerce meeting in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Sohn Kyung-shik, the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said despite unfavorable economic conditions, two-way trade surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2011.

He said the growth was made possible by continued efforts by businesses from the two countries to expand trade and investments.

The KCCI chief added that Korea and Japanese companies can cooperate in areas such as environmental conservation, biotech and industrial materials, as well as work together to cope with potential energy shortages down the road, low birthrates and rapid population aging that threaten sustainable growth of the two countries.

In response, Tadashi Okamura, a chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there has been a move by Japanese small and medium enterprises to go abroad that could fuel business cooperation between the neighboring countries.

Korean businessmen at the gathering, meanwhile, called on the JCCI to do more to get Japanese firms to expand overseas operations. They pointed out that because Seoul has free trade pacts with the United States and the European Union, setting up businesses in South Korea could give Japanese companies an advantage when exporting goods.