Abe pledges $200 mln in anti-ISIS Mideast aid
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday pledged about $200 million in non-military assistance for countries battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group.
Speaking during visit to Cairo, Abe warned of the “immeasurable loss” the world would suffer if terrorism spreads across the Arab world, according to Reuters news agency.
“Should we leave terrorism or weapons of mass destruction to spread in this region, the loss imparted upon the international community would be immeasurable,” Abe said in the Egyptian capital at the start of a regional tour.
“I will pledge assistance of a total of about 200 million U.S. dollars for those countries contending with ISIL, to help build their human capacities, infrastructure, and so on,” said Abe, using another term for ISIS.
In addition to the $2.2 billion in assistance Japan pledged for the Middle East two years ago, Abe said his government would provide another $2.5 billion in non-military assistance in fields such as humanitarian assistance and infrastructure, according to Reuters news agency.
ISIS controls large parts of OPEC oil producer Iraq and neighboring Syria, has declared a caliphate and wants to redraw the map of the Middle East, a region vital for Japan’s energy needs.
Abe is to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before heading to Jordan on his whistlestop six-day tour of the Middle East to pledge support for peace.
[wpResize]
You must be logged in to post a comment.