Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday said here that Japan would like to cooperate with Egypt in efforts to end the crisis over Iran's nuclear file.

During his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the presidential palace, Abe expressed Japan's concern and its intention to cooperate with Egypt on the Iranian nuclear issue, according to Japanese officials.

For his part, Mubarak expressed Egypt's willingness to cooperate with Japan on the Iranian nuclear issue, being worried about the stability of the region if Iran held nuclear weapons.

In a joint statement after the talks between the two leaders, Mubarak and Abe stressed the importance of making the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.

Abe also made it clear that Japan would like to strengthen its partnership with Egypt as the strategic hub in the Middle East and Africa, the statement said.

Aiming to establish a new multi-layered relationship with the Middle East beyond oil, Abe agreed with Mubarak to forge a " strategic partnership" to help resolve the regional disputes.

The two leaders also dealt with the Middle East issue and other regional topics to focus on how to break the stalled Mideast peace process and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as the situation in Iraq, according to Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awad.

The statement also said that Mubarak and Abe agreed that national reconciliation is the bedrock for the stabilization of Iraq and underscored the importance of the two international meetings on Iraq to be held on May 3-4 separately in Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh.

Bilateral relations and increase of trade exchange is also among the agenda of the talks between Mubarak and Abe, while Mubarak expected an increase of Japanese investment and tourists in Egypt.

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef also discussed on Wednesday with Abe means to beef up cooperation ties in all domains, including bilateral economic and trade ties and means to lure more Japanese investments.

Minister of Petroleum Amin Sameh Samir Fahmi also met with the Japanese delegation to probe means of promoting cooperation between the two sides in the field of oil and natural gas exploration.

Coming from Doha, Qatar, Abe arrived here on Wednesday morning to wrap up his regional tour, which also took him to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

This is Abe's first visit to the Middle East since he took office in September 2006, which aims to enhance relations with the Mideast and Gulf countries.

Source: Xinhua