Netanyahu talks Iran, trade with Japanese counterpart
After briefing Japan's Shinzo Abe in Jerusalem on Iran's 'nuclear archives', Netanyahu promises to make relations between Israel and Japan ‘even better', while Abe invites Israeli leader to visit Japan.
Netanyahu said he briefed Shinzo Abe in Jerusalem about a trove of documents he presented this week on Iran's "nuclear archives" seized by Israeli intelligence.
"He added that whoever does not want nuclear weapons does not prepare plans and certainly does not preserve them. The prime minister said that the JCPOA (The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) was a bad agreement based on Iran's lies and deceit," a press statement from Netanyahu's office said.
The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations, with Prime Minister Abe inviting Netanyahu to visit Japan.
"We see the tremendous growth in Japanese investments of Israel, Israeli investments in Japan, the technology opportunities. This is a great partnership and we'll make it even better," Netanyahu said in a statement.
"This is your second visit to Israel. My most recent visit to Japan was spectacular. We see the tremendous growth in Japanese investments of Israel, Israeli investments in Japan, the technology opportunities. This is a great partnership and we’ll make it even better."
Prime Minister Abe also lauded the grwoing bilateral ties between the two countries.
"I do hope that Mr. Prime Minister will come back to Japan in the near future. And also I am very happy to note that there has been the dramatic increase in the Japanese investment to Israel under my administration," Abe boasted.
"And also this time around, I brought a business delegation from Japan to Israel, which includes so many of the CEOs from Japan, so I do hope that you’ll have a productive discussion with the business leaders in the summit meetings that we are planning to have. And also I do hope that we’ll further investment development between the two sides."
Earlier, Abe met Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in the West Bank city of Jericho and toured an agricultural park supported by Japan. He met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas the day before after arriving from Jordan.
During their discussions, Netanyahu also condemned Abbas's anti-Semitic remarks, telling him that they reveal the truth about why there is no peace.
After the meeting, the two leaders met with senior Japanese businesspeople, with both prime ministers welcoming the increase in Japanese investments in Israel.
"This is only the beginning," Netanyahu optimistically stated.
In January 2015, the Israeli cabinet decided to strengthen economic ties with Japan, giving rise to increased economic cooperation in a variety of fields.
In January 2017, an unprecedented bilateral investment protection agreement was signed following which the quantity and scope of Japanese investments in Israel have increased over a thousand-fold.
