Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday hailed participation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a "vital relationship" on a visit went for boosting political and financial ties.
Abe touched base in the oil-rich Gulf state late Sunday on the principal leg of a Middle East visit which will likewise take him to Jordan, Israel and Palestine.
"In the course of recent years since I last went to Abu Dhabi, our reciprocal relations have gained emotional ground to a relationship that has been known as a key relationship," Abe told a UAE-Japan business discussion.
Top officials from Japan's driving business bunches tended to the gathering, featuring ventures in progress in UAE and tentative arrangements.