Abe to visit Belgium after attending U.N. General Assembly

September 6, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the Belgian capital of Brussels in late September after attending a U.N. General Assembly session in New York, according to Japanese government sources.

The Japanese leader will deliver a keynote speech at the opening of an international conference on strengthening economic ties between the European Union and Asia on Sept. 27 in Brussels, the sources said Thursday.

The conference, titled EU-Asia Connectivity, Building Bridges for a Sustainable Future, will be hosted by the European Commission. It will be joined by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and national leaders, as well as senior officials of government-affiliated financial institutions, including Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao.

With China having greater political influence on European countries on the back of its economic expansion into the area, Abe is hoping to highlight Japan's presence by underscoring the importance of high-quality infrastructure investment and international order based on the rule of law.

The prime minister will leave for New York on Sept. 23 to deliver a speech during the General Debate at the U.N. session. Talks with national leaders such as U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are being arranged there, the sources said.

Abe is scheduled to arrive in Brussels on Sept. 26 and return home on Sept. 28. Jiji Press