Abe to Give Speech on Middle East Policy in Cairo

Tokyo, Jan. 14 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will give a speech on his government's Middle East policy in Cairo on Saturday, during his upcoming tour of the region, it was learned Wednesday. In the speech, Abe is set to pledge Japan's support for efforts to stabilize the region, informed sources said. Abe will visit Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Palestine in this order after leaving Japan on Friday. He will return home on Jan. 21. He will hold bilateral summits with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The agenda for the summit talks is expected to include counterterrorism measures following terror attacks in Paris last week. Abe plans to visit the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and the construction site for a Japan-sponsored museum in Egypt. Abe will be accompanied by officials from some 50 Japanese companies, as well as his wife, Akie, in an effort to promote exports of Japanese infrastructure technology. END