DUSHANBE, October 22, 2015, Asia-Plus – Russian news agency
RIA Novosti
reports senior representatives of 50 Japanese companies are accompanying Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his five-day tour of Mongolia and Central Asia.
According to
RIA Novosti
, Japan is ready to extend its presence in Central Asia in order to counter China’s growing clout in the region and to get access to natural resources.
RIA Novosti
cited Japan’s Foreign Ministry as saying that “stability and prosperity of Central Asia’s nations should provide security in the region as a whole.”
Japan’s
NHK World
reports Japan”s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flew from Tokyo”s Haneda airport on Thursday to Mongolia, the first leg of his trip. It is his first overseas visit since reshuffling his cabinet earlier this month.
Abe told reporters that Mongolia and Central Asia are geopolitically important areas linking the East and West.
He said they are extremely important countries in his “diplomacy that takes a panoramic perspective of the world map.”
Abe said these countries used to depend on exporting natural resources but are now aiming to become economies that rely on value-added industries and are seeking high-quality infrastructure.
He said that together with the business leaders who will accompany him, he wants to dramatically bolster economic ties with the countries, according to
NHK World
.
Prime Minister Abe visits Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan before returning to Japan next Wednesday.
The Tajik MFA information department reports Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Tajikistan as part of his tour of Central Asia’s nations on October 24.
The visit will be the first by a Japanese prime minister to Tajikistan.
PM Abe is expected to hold talks with President Emomali Rahmon and other high-ranking Tajik state officials to discuss issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Japan.
According to data of the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Japan in January-September 2015 has valued at about US$ 8.7 million, which was 5.5 percent more than in the same period last year. This consisted of Tajikistan’s exports to Japan estimated at about US$ 1.9 million and Tajikistan’s imports from India worth more than US$ 6.8 million.
