PREVIEW OF PRIME MINISTER ABE'S TRIP TO THE MIDDLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001760

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2017
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD ENRG XF EG KU QA SA AE JA
SUBJECT: PREVIEW OF PRIME MINISTER ABE'S TRIP TO THE MIDDLE
EAST

REF: TOKYO 1058

Classified By: Ambassador J. T. Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Immediately following his summit with
President Bush, Japanese PM Abe will visit Saudi Arabia, Abu
Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, and Egypt between April 28 and
May 2. A major goal of the trip will be to enhance economic
relations and to raise Japan's profile in the region. Abe
will be accompanied by a business delegation numbering over
170 participants that will be led by Keidanren Chairman (and
Canon CEO) Fujio Mitarai and include between 60 to 70 Chief
Executive Officers. From a political perspective, Abe hopes
to elevate relations with many of the states of the region,
demonstrate Japan's commitment to the Middle East, and gain
support for issues of importance to Tokyo, such as permanent
U.N. Security Council membership and maintaining pressure on
North Korea. In Kuwait, Abe will visit Ali Al Salem Air Base
to meet Japan's Air Self Defense Force (ASDF) personnel
supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, and in Abu Dhabi he plans
to meet with members of the Maritime Self Defense Forces
(MSDF) deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Diplomats based in Tokyo from the countries to be visited are
excited about the trip and hopeful that ties will be
enhanced. END SUMMARY.

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NOT JUST OIL: SEEKING A "MORE DIVERSE" RELATIONSHIP
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2. (C) Following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's meetings with
President Bush in Washington, he will fly directly to Saudi
Arabia arriving April 28 to kick off a five-day swing through
the Middle East, during which he will make additional stops
in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Egypt,
according to MOFA Second Middle East Division Principal
Deputy Director Motosada Matano. MOFA Director General for
Middle Eastern and African Affairs Norihiro Okuda told Deputy
Chief of Mission a major goal of the trip is to take Japan's
relations with these countries "beyond oil" and to develop a
more diverse "multilayered" economic relationship and lay the
framework for a deeper political dialogue. In addition to
bilateral relations, Abe also will wish to discuss regional
issues with Arab leaders including Iraq, Iran, and the Middle
East Peace Process.


3. (C) Abe's visit comes two months after Foreign Minister
Aso's "Middle East Policy As I See It" speech set forth
Japan's interests in the region (reftel). First and foremost
on Aso's list of interests is the fact that Japan imports
more than 90 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East.
Second is the opportunity for Japanese businesses to
participate in and profit from commercial ventures in the
economically sound countries of the region. And third,
harkening back to the dependence on oil, is Japan's desire to

see stability throughout the region. One action that Aso
specified Japan would take was to increase the number of
high-level visits. Abe's trip follows recent separate visits
to Japan by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Vice President. In
addition, Tokyo hosted an Iraqi parliamentary delegation to
attend a Japanese-sponsored reconciliation seminar, and also
just hosted an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian gathering to
promote confidence building measures and Japan's "Corridor of
Peace and Prosperity" initiative, which is aimed at advancing
the Peace Process. Japan has also been in the process of
negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation
Council.


4. (C) Highlighting the seriousness with which the Japanese
are taking this visit is the high-powered caliber of the
trade delegation that will accompany the Prime Minister.
According to Okuda and Matano, at least 170 private business
executives will make the trip, including between 60 to 70
CEOs. The business delegation will be led by the Canon CEO
Fujio Mitarai, Chairman of the Keidanren, Japan's most
influential business federation. Senior government officials
who will accompany the Prime Minister include National
Security Advisor Yoriko Koike, Special Assistant for Public
Affairs Hiroshige Seko, and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
Hakubun Shimomura. Mrs. Abe will also accompany the Prime
Minister and separate programs for her are being planned at
all stops. Ranking MOFA officials will include Okuda and
Japan's Ambassador in Charge of Reconstruction Assistance to
Iraq and Afghanistan Gotaro Ogawa.


5. (C) Another goal of the visit, Matano told Embassy Tokyo,
is to focus Japanese public opinion on the "bright side" of
developments in the Middle East. When most Japanese think of
the region, he said, they see it as a dangerous, negative
place. The Abe Administration wants to highlight to the
public that there are positive developments taking place, and
that there are opportunities for Japan to make a difference,
both politically and economically.

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LINK TO WASHINGTON VISIT: GLOBAL PARTNER JAPAN
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6. (C) According to both Okuda and Matano, PM Abe's visit to
the Middle East immediately after meeting with the President
is not an accident. The Japanese wish to link the visits and
hope to advance the concept, initiated by former Prime
Minister Koizumi, that the U.S.-Japan alliance is global in
nature and not merely regional in scope. While Abe does not
want to be seen as simply a "messenger" delivering the mail
from Washington, the Japanese do want to be seen to be
working in concert with the United States toward common goals
on Middle East issues while, at the same time, maintaining
their own independent policy. Hence, Abe will be looking
forward to discussing the region with the President and then

following up in meetings with key Arab leaders by pressing
interests mutually shared between Japan and the U.S. Matano
cautioned, however, that Abe will most likely not be focusing
on issues such as democratization or human rights in his
meetings with Arab leaders. One of his major themes
throughout the visit will be how Japan can help with the
promotion of education and vocational training.

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THE ITINERARY
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7. (C) Each stop along the way, except for Cairo, will
involve a morning arrival, afternoon and evening programs to
include lunches and dinners, an overnight stay, and an early
morning departure. Egypt is the only country where Abe will
not spend the night. The initial outlines for each stop are
as follows:

Saudi Arabia
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8. (C) PM Abe will arrive the morning of April 28 and depart
on April 29. The major goal of the visit will be to enhance
economic relations. The King will be hosting the visit,
Saudi Ambassador to Tokyo Faisal Trad told an Embassy Tokyo
political officer, and is very much looking forward to the
first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister since 2003.

United Arab Emirates
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9. (C) PM Abe will arrive the morning of April 29 and depart
on April 30. A major objective is to ask for support in
extending concessions for Japanese drilling rights set to
expire in 2012. In Abu Dhabi, Abe will pay a visit to a MSDF
ship deployed with Coalition Forces in the Indian Ocean as
part of Operation Enduring Freedom that will be making a port
call. The Prime Minister plans to visit Dubai for three to
four hours where the focus will be on developing commercial
and business relations. Prime Minister Muhammad will host a
luncheon for both the political and business delegations.

Kuwait
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10. (C) PM Abe will arrive the morning of April 30 and depart
on May 1. There will be a business seminar and meetings with
the Emir and Prime Minister, followed by a dinner. Abe will
be driven out to Ali Al Salem Air Base to visit ASDF forces
deployed there as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Kuwaiti
Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Khaled Al-Mutairi told
Embassy Tokyo that this will be the first visit ever to
Kuwait by a Japanese Prime Minister.

Qatar
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11. (C) Arrival is scheduled for the morning of May 1 with a
May 2 departure. As with the other stops, there will be
business events and political meetings. Abe plans to give an
interview to Al-Jazeera but, according to Matano, it has
still not been determined whether it will be live or taped.

Egypt
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12. (C) Cairo is the only stop where Abe will not be staying
overnight. The planned arrival time is 0900 on May 2 with a
2200 departure the same day. Egyptian Embassy First
Secretary Walid Haggag told Embassy Tokyo political officer

SIPDIS
that Egypt recognizes it is an "add on," observing that the
obvious aim of the visit to the region is to make business
connections with the rich oil exporting countries of the
Gulf. However, he noted, "it is impossible to come to the
Middle East without stopping in Cairo." He said nothing
major is expected to come out of the visit, but then
described a detailed draft joint statement proposed by the
Japanese side. Both sides hope to expand upon the
"Japan-Egypt Partnership Program" initiated in 1999 and set
up a "Joint Strategic Dialogue" relationship between
Ministries of Foreign Affairs at either the Ministerial or
Deputy Minister level. Japanese ODA programs with Egypt will
be discussed, and the Japanese hope to get an Egyptian
endorsement for their "Corridor of Peace and Prosperity"
initiative with the Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians.
Abe will invite President Mubarak to visit Tokyo in
conjunction with the Tokyo International Conference on
African Development (TCAD IV) in 2008.


13. (C) Other topics to be discussed in Cairo, according to
Haggag, include the upcoming "Japan-Arab Dialogue Forum"
between Japan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia scheduled for November
in Alexandria, and an expanded "Japan-Arab Conference" which
Haggag described as being like Davos but for Arabs and Japan
only. On other topics, the Joint Statement will support
reconciliation in Iraq, call on Iran to comply with UNSCRs
1737 and 1747 and to cease nuclear enrichment activities,
urge continued support to Lebanon and the government of Prime
Minister Siniora, and endorse a nuclear weapons free zone in
the Middle East and Israeli accession to the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty. Japan has included language on
North Korea and the abductee issue, and will also call on
Egypt to support its bid for a permanent seat on the Security
Council and, in the meantime, for support in obtaining a
rotating seat in 2009. Haggag said that although Egypt will
most likely vote to return Japan to the Security Council in
2009, it is too early for Cairo to publicly commit to this
now.

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COMMENT
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14. (C) Prime Minister Abe's visit to the Middle East is an
ambitious undertaking, not only in terms of the number of
countries to be covered in a short period, but also in terms
of the size and makeup of his delegation which, according to
Matano, will require at least three aircraft to transport -
two government planes and a chartered 747. Matano said he is
frantically scrambling to find 150 Japanese diplomats who can
fill TDY slots to support the visit. We believe Abe's trip
is another signal that Japan intends to play an increasingly
visible role in the Middle East as is strives to assure a
continued flow of oil and improved economic and commercial
relations with the Gulf states.
SCHIEFFER