Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

(VOVworld) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe begins his one-week tour of the Middle East and Africa on Thursday. His visits aim to enhance economic ties with Middle East and African countries, ensure energy supply, and boost Japanese export to those regions. Mr. Abe arrived in Oman on Thursday to meet King Qaboos bin Said. Japanese officials said Mr. Abe will ask Oman to guarantee stable petroleum and natural gas supply to Japan and discuss marine security cooperation.

Since 2006, Japan has negotiated trade and service liberalization with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consisting of Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. Oman is the last GCC country that Mr. Abe visited since he took office in 2012.

In Africa, Mr. Abe will visit Cote D’ivore, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. He is scheduled to announce Japan’s continuous Official Development Assistance in infrastructure and human resources development for these countries.