Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Switzerland from Jan. 21 to 23 to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he will speak about Japan's economic and foreign policies, a senior official said Friday.
Abe will make a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the rich people's conference on Jan. 22, making him the first Japanese leader to do so, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
Abe will tell leaders and experts from around the world about his deflation-busting "Abenomics" policies and his foreign policy of "proactively contributing to peace," based on the principle of international cooperation.
"It will be a great opportunity for Japan to send a message to the world about its economic and diplomatic policies," Suga said.
Abe took office in December 2012, pledging to revive Japan's economy with aggressive monetary easing, hefty fiscal stimulus and promises of pro-growth deregulation. He did not attend the WEF last year.
Two Cabinet ministers are planning to accompany Abe to the forum — economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.
Amari, who is in charge of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, may meet with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on the sidelines of the forum, Japanese officials said.
Talks between the two key members of the 12-nation trade talks are widely seen as crucial to quickly hammering out a trade liberalization deal that would account for around 40 percent of global economic output. The original goal was to reach a broad TPP agreement in 2013.