Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Friday to join hands in assisting refugees from conflict-torn Syria while also working to prevent terrorism, a Japanese official said.
Meeting the Turkish leader in Istanbul ahead of a Group of 20 summit hosted by Turkey in the southern resort town of Antalya, Abe pledged support for refugees as an increasing number of people have been displaced from Syria, which borders Turkey, after more than four years of civil war there.
Abe and Erdogan agreed on the need for Japan, Turkey and the other G-20 major economies to send a strong message on the refugee and terrorism issues at the two-day G-20 summitm which starts Sunday.