Prime Minister, Japanese counterpart hold talks

In his remarks at the joint press conference, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed Mulki, noting that his visit followed His Majesty King Abdullah’s trip to Japan last September.

“The fact that Prime Minister Mulki is accompanied by three ministries on this trip to Japan will truly contribute to expanding the traditional friendship between Japan and Jordan and open a new chapter in our bilateral ties”.

He said Jordan had been making immense efforts not only for the sake of its own country, but for the peace and stability in the region and the global community in the context of the challenges in the Middle East, including the prolonged Syrian crisis, refugees, terrorism, and extremism. Japan highly appreciates such efforts by Jordan, he added.

Abe said that in today’s meeting, he once again delivered the message that Japan will continue to provide strong support to Jordan as the cornerstone of regional peace and stability.

“From such vantage point, we announced recently the (amount of) approximately 2.4 billion yen, about $21 million, support for the improvement of the water supply system in the governorate of Irbid, an important host community of Syrian refugees to help mitigate the burden born by Jordan in accepting more than 1.3 million refugees from Syria.

“In addition, taking the opportunity of Prime Minister Mulk’s visit to Japan, we have decided to provide an assistance of approximately 1.4 billion yen, about $12 million, for a new project on water sector improvement in the governorate of Balqa”, he said.

“We also look to see the economic ties between Japan and Jordan become even closer, and with great pleasure we were able to confirm the launch of negotiations of an investment agreement between our two countries”, he added.

Abe said Jordan is an important partner, and that under Japan’s concept to create a corridor for peace and prosperity to promote peace in the Middle East, the two countries will take the initiative for regional development, while promoting confidence-building between Israel and Palestine.

Earlier, Mulki met with the head and members of the Jordanian-Japanese Friendship Committee at Japan’s House of Representatives for a discussion of bilateral ties and regional issues, with a focus on the burdens posed to Jordan by crises in the Middle East.

The Prime Minister briefed the committee, led by MP Kazunori Tanaka, about the comprehensive reforms Jordan is implementing, stressing that the reform process will continue in economic fields and the public sector.

He also held meetings with officials of the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), an administrative agency of the Japanese government, as well as representatives of Mitsubishi Group and Mitsui Group, which have decades-old investments in Jordan’s electricity, renewable energy and other sectors, and discussed increasing and expanding their investments and using Jordan as a gateway for Japanese firms in the region.

Source: Fana News