The government is arranging visits by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Britain and the Netherlands in early January before trips to Switzerland and Russia later in the month, government sources said Thursday.

During his visit from Jan. 9 to Jan 11 he is expected to hold talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May to bolster cooperation in fields such as security, and also to meet with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the sources said.

Abe had initially planned to visit the two countries on the occasion of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina earlier this month, but postponed those arrangements due to a tight Diet schedule at home.