British PM touches down in Japan
- 12 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Japan on Tuesday (April 10) in a bid to boost trade with the region's rapidly expanding economies, even as European growth falters.
Deals worth a total of more than 200 million pounds ($317 million USD) are expected to be a announced in Japan, including a decision by car maker Nissan to build a new hatchback at its Sunderland plant in northeast England from 2014.
That plan is expected to create 225 new jobs at the site, and another 900 in the supply chain.
Cameron, who is travelling with representatives from more than 35 companies, is eager to boost trade with Asia as financial woes suffocate growth in Europe, where countries are still reeling from the 2008 financial crash and governments are slashing spending to rein in budget deficits.
Cameron also hopes to make progress on securing a free trade agreement between the European Union, which as a bloc is the world's largest economy, and Japan, the world's third largest.
Issues on the agenda for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda include co-operation on defence manufacturing, nuclear decommissioning and free trade, as well as the violence in Syria and relations with Iran and North Korea.
On defence, Cameron hopes to capitalise on Tokyo's recent decision to relax its self-imposed decades-old ban on military equipment exports, which could open the way to the joint development of arms by Japanese and British firms.
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Japan on Tuesday (April 10) in a bid to boost trade with the region's rapidly expanding economies, even as European growth falters.
Deals worth a total of more than 200 million pounds ($317 million USD) are expected to be a announced in Japan, including a decision by car maker Nissan to build a new hatchback at its Sunderland plant in northeast England from 2014.
That plan is expected to create 225 new jobs at the site, and another 900 in the supply chain.
Cameron, who is travelling with representatives from more than 35 companies, is eager to boost trade with Asia as financial woes suffocate growth in Europe, where countries are still reeling from the 2008 financial crash and governments are slashing spending to rein in budget deficits.
Cameron also hopes to make progress on securing a free trade agreement between the European Union, which as a bloc is the world's largest economy, and Japan, the world's third largest.
Issues on the agenda for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda include co-operation on defence manufacturing, nuclear decommissioning and free trade, as well as the violence in Syria and relations with Iran and North Korea.
On defence, Cameron hopes to capitalise on Tokyo's recent decision to relax its self-imposed decades-old ban on military equipment exports, which could open the way to the joint development of arms by Japanese and British firms.