NEW YORK–Economic powerhouses Tokyo and New York will join forces to help Japanese and American startups penetrate their respective markets.

A partnership agreement was signed here on November 22 by Manabu Miyasaka, deputy governor of Tokyo, and Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corp.

Miyasaka said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government had received requests from New York-based startups to work with large Japanese companies, but those startups may not know where they could seek advice.

“We hope (the two cities) will support each other’s businesses by serving as a gateway to each other,” Miyasaka said.

Tokyo and New York are the world‘s two largest metropolitan areas in economic terms ladder.

Although better known as a financial center, New York has focused on the development of high-tech industries since the 2008 global financial crisis and has attracted universities and science and technology companies.

The city, home to investors interested in venture capital firms, is now home to many startups, mainly in the information technology sector.