Abe leaves for Europe to attend Japan-EU talks, G-20 summit

said braka 8:56 AM
TOKYO
Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe left for Belgium on Wednesday, embarking on a roughly weeklong European tour to promote free trade with the European Union and attend a Group of 20 summit in Germany.
His six-nation trip through July 12 comes amid an anti-globalization, inward-looking streak in some parts of the globe and heightened concerns over North Korea, which said it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.
"I want to use the G-20 as an opportunity to strongly assert, with the leaders of the world, the need for the international community to work closely together in dealing with North Korea, the threat from which grew with yesterday's ballistic missile launch," Abe told reporters at Tokyo's Haneda airport prior to his departure.
In Belgium, his first stop, Abe is scheduled to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union leaders on Thursday.
Japan is stepping up talks with the European Union to bridge differences and reach a broad agreement on free trade deal after four years of negotiations.
On Friday and Saturday, the premier plans to join other leaders from the G-20 advanced and emerging economies in Hamburg, Germany, to discuss a range of global issues from terrorism, free trade and climate change.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the G-20 summit for the first time since taking office in January. His remarks are expected to be scrutinized after he withdrew the United States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, and the Paris climate accord to fight global warming.
Abe will take part in a trilateral meeting with Trump and newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae In to tackle the threat from North Korea on the fringes of the G-20 gathering.
The Japanese leader is also scheduled to hold separate bilateral talks with Trump and Moon, as well as with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is also being arranged, Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday.
After the two-day summit, Abe will travel to Sweden, Finland and Denmark, as well as Estonia, which holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of this year.