TOKYO, Aug 24 – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday kicked off his tour of three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Djibouti aimed at boosting energy and security ties, Xinhua news agency reported.
Abe is expected to improve Japan’s relations with Gulf states Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to secure its stable supply of energy resources such as crude oil and natural gas.
The prime minister will also urge the Arab states to enable Japanese companies to take part in infrastructure construction in their country, in particular in Qatar that will host the 2022 Soccer World Cup.
“I hope I will be able to enhance our ties comprehensively rather than focusing only on oil and other energy fields,” Abe was quoted by local media as saying before his departure.
About 50 business leaders accompanying Abe on his trip will hold a business forum in Qatar.
Abe will also urge the three Arab countries to resume stalled free trade negotiations between Japan and the GCC.
The prime minister’s visit to Djibouti aims at cooperating on the fight against piracy in waters off Somalia.
On Friday, local media said the Japanese Defense Ministry is mulling to dispatch resident officials tasked with military information gathering to Djibouti and six other Africa countries to strengthen its intelligence collecting capability.
-BERNAMA
