Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed Tuesday in Tokyo that the two countries will work toward starting negotiations for a bilateral economic partnership agreement, hopefully before the end of this year.
During their meeting at the State Guest House in the Akasaka district, they also agreed to speed up finalizing a civil nuclear accord that they signed in May. To take effect, the accord — necessary for Japan to export nuclear power infrastructure to Turkey — needs approval from both countries' legislative bodies.
"We will make efforts in concluding (the EPA) as early as possible," Erdogan told reporters at a joint news conference following their meeting. "I believe our relationship will get even stronger by concluding the pact."