Dr M pays courtesy call on Shinzo Abe

TOKYO: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad paid a courtesy call on his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at his office here on Tuesday (June 12).

The meeting, which came on the sidelines of Dr Mahathir's attendance at the 24th Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia, took place just as the Trump-Kim Summit was being held in Singapore.

During the meeting which started at around 10.30am, Abe in his opening remarks thanked the Prime Minister for choosing Japan as the destination for his first overseas trip.

In his remarks, Dr Mahathir said Japan had been very cooperative in making the Look East Policy - which he launched in 1982 - a success.

He said now that he was Prime Minister again, he was looking forward to further enhancing the relationship between the two countries.

This is the first meeting between the two men since Dr Mahathir became the country's seventh Prime Minister.

The meeting is expected to last 45 minutes.