TOKYO (Sputnik) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was "honored" to be the first of the foreign leaders to meet US President-elect Donald Trump and expressed hope for establishing trust-based relations between them, media reported.
"I am very honored to see the President-elect ahead of other world leaders…. The Japan-US alliance is the axis of Japan's diplomacy and security. The alliance becomes alive only when there is trust between us. I would like to build such a trust with Mr Trump," Abe was quoted as saying by CNN.
Trump won the 2016 US presidential elections, securing 290 electoral votes.
Abe congratulated Trump on his election victory last week, pledging to strengthen US-Japanese cooperation. According to local media reports, Abe stressed that the US-Japanese alliance was beneficial for both states, but no specific defense or trade issues were discussed.
