Japan aims to boost role in West Asia: PM

Cario, May 3: Japan has a special role to play in the West Asia peace process and is prepared to become actively involved in the region, both economically and politically, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today.

Egypt is Abe's final stop on a five-nation West Asia visit aimed at raising Japan's profile and ensuring a stable energy supply for the world's second-largest economy as demand rises from rapidly growing China and India.

Tokyo feels it is in a unique position in the West since it lacks the political baggage of the United States, and it has tried to mediate between Palestinians and Israel in the search for peace.

''The peace and stability of the West Asia is essential for the peace and prosperity of the world,'' Abe told a news conference in Cairo. ''My nation will become actively involved in the area, building a multi-layered relationship and a new age for both Japan and the West Asia.'' Earlier, Abe held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The two agreed a ''just, comprehensive'' solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict was essential and that the peace process should be resumed as soon as possible.

In March, Tokyo hosted four-way talks to work towards peace by easing tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories, centring on economic cooperation in the hope that prosperity might succeed where other means have failed.

Analysts say its push for a higher profile in the West Asia now is due partly to its trying to improve an image tarnished in the eyes of some Arab nations by Tokyo's dispatch of troops to Iraq in support of the United States.

While Abe called for a ''multi-layered'' relationship going beyond oil, ensuring a stable energy supply was also clearly a priority of his visit, as Japan gets nearly 90 percent of its crude from the West Asia and the nations he visited provide some 70 percent of its needs.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) agreed to grant loans to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co of an expected 1 billion dollars in exchange for long-term supplies to Japanese firms.

Tokyo also proposed letting Saudi Arabia use some of its oil storage facilities but turned down a request from Qatar, which sought cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear power in return for more liquefied natural gas supplies.

Abe said Qatar should go to the IAEA -- the United Nations atomic watchdog -- for support, a Japanese official said.

Reuters

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