Japan to boost political involvement in Mideast
Source: Reuters
(Adds details of Iraq meeting in paras 10-11) By Elaine Lies TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan, dependent on the Middle East for nearly all of its oil, will boost its political involvement in the volatile region in the face of growing energy demand from China and India, its foreign minister said on Wednesday. Japan has long felt it has a special role to play in the region, since it lacks much of the political baggage of the United States, allowing for warmer ties with Arab nations. This has also enabled it to be a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians in the search for peace, work it intends to emphasise in the future, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said. "It is impossible for me to overemphasise the critical importance for Japan of the Middle East, which provides us with such important resources," Aso said in a speech in Tokyo. Noting that Japan last year imported 89.2 percent of its crude oil from the region, Aso added that demand from China and India -- which he said already depend on the Middle East for some 40 and 60 percent of their oil, respectively, -- would help make the oil market more of a seller's market than ever. "As an oil consumer, clearly Japan must maintain a tangible presence in the Middle East," he added. IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION Although Aso laid down no specific policy steps, he said Tokyo would help broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians by such steps as hosting a four-way meeting with officials from Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority next month. "It is essential that we secure and then reinforce maximum stability in the region, leading to a calmer and more stable order," he said. "This can be done by making full use of Japan's economic, intellectual and diplomatic resources." Aso said Japan will also host in late March a seminar on Iraqi reconstruction, which Kyodo news agency quoted officials as saying would involve Iraqi lawmakers and Japanese legal experts. "Unless we are able to stop the bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan, it will be no surprise if the violence ... spreads beyond the Middle East as a whole," he said. Former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi offered economic assistance and cooperation during a visit to the region last summer. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday he hoped Tokyo could help build peace and trust in the area. Japan plans to help build an agro-industrial park on the West Bank in a joint project under the framework Koizumi has proposed. Media reports have said Abe could visit the region around late April or early May. Officials have said nothing has been decided, but Aso said mutual visits by high-level and senior officials needed to be increased. Japan is the second-largest aid donor to the Palestinian territories on a country basis after the United States, and Koizumi last year pledged nearly $30 million in aid to President Mahmoud Abbas.
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