Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny affirmed on Wednesday their cooperation to realize a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union at an early date. During the first visit to Ireland by a sitting Japanese premier, Abe agreed to bolster ties with Ireland, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-member European Union. On Abe's economic policies dubbed Abenomics, Kenny expressed support and said a strong Japanese economy will be a benefit to the world, Japanese officials said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny on Wednesday during the first visit to Ireland by a serving Japanese premier. Abe is expected to discuss bolstering ties with Ireland -- and with the European Union as Dublin current holds the rotating presidency of the 27-member European Union. The visit comes just after Abe attended the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland, where he joined other leaders from the Group of Eight nations to discuss issues of international concern.

Leaders of the Group of Eight nations on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest terms" any use of chemical weapons in Syria and called on all sides to allow U.N. investigators to look into their alleged use, as they wrapped up their two-day summit in Northern Ireland. In a communique released after the summit, the leaders also vowed to cooperate in reducing terrorism risks, while calling on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, which Pyongyang has pursued despite international sanctions against it.

Leaders of the Group of Eight nations are set to wrap up their two-day summit in Northern Ireland on Tuesday with the adoption of a leaders' declaration in which they plan to commit themselves to combating terrorism. The leaders are expected to address in the declaration the need for rules designed to prevent multilateral corporations from avoiding taxes, while hammering out G-8 responses to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.