The Palestinian foreign minister has arrived in Japan on the first leg of a tour of Asia and Europe aimed at resuming financial aid to his government, a Japanese official said.

 

Ziyad Abu Amr will spend three days in Japan, a financial supporter of the Middle East peace process, before going to China, Russia and then eight European countries.

Abu Amr, an independent in the government, will meet about 40 members of Japan's parliament and hold talks on Tuesday with Taro Aso, the foreign minister.

 

The West and Israel imposed an economic boycott on the Palestinian government in March 2006 after Hamas won elections.

Japan also suspended direct aid, but has kept a lower profile than Europe and the US, saying it hopes to be seen as a neutral player in the Middle East.

Recent press reports, denied by officials in Japan, have said the country has already agreed in principle to resume aid to the Palestinian government.

Coalition

Hamas formed a coalition government with Fatah, the movement of Mahmoud Abbas, the president, in March this year.

But donors have refused to lift the financial ban until Hamas explicitly renounces violence and agrees to recognise Israel and abide by past peace deals.

 

The unity government has said it will "respect" previous agreements with Israel, but its platform does not call for recognising Israel and asserts that Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation in "all its forms" is a legitimate right.

The boycott has emptied the coffers of the Palestinian Authority. Civil servants not receiving full salaries for more than a year, amid bloodshed between rival Palestinian factions.

Japan in March hosted a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian envoys in a bid to increase its influence in the region as it seeks a greater global role.

In 2006, Tokyo announced a plan to build an agro-industrial park in the West Bank in a bid to close the income gap between the Palestinians and Israelis.