Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe landed in Israel on Tuesday night to begin a two-day state visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority as part of a regional tour. Abe was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.
"My friend, welcome to Israel! I am looking forward to our meeting tomorrow in Jerusalem," Netanyahu tweeted.
Regional Cooperation Minister Tzahi Hanegbi arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport to welcome Abe, who arrived with his wife and a large delegation of Japanese businesspeople to explore investment opportunities in Israel.
Abe met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday night, and was expected to visit the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park, a regional project Japan bankrolls in the region.
This will be Abe's second visit to Israel. His first was in 2015. In a statement, he expressed his wish to contribute to the advancement of peace in the Middle East by using good relations he enjoys with both sides.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "relations with Japan are very good. The two nations enjoy very close collaboration in the fields of commerce and economy, cyber, science, academia, medicine and more."
