Japanese government officials confirmed Monday that Bahrain has said it will lift its restrictions on food imports from Japan which it put in place following the March 2011 nuclear disaster.

According to officials here, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, currently on a trip to four Middle Eastern and African countries, was told of Bahrain's decision to lift its import ban by Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the country's prime minister, during a meeting in Manama, Bahrain's capital.

Bahrain's decision marks the first time a member country of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has lifted the import restrictions on Japanese food and comes on the back of Japan making an official request to Khalifa, when he visited Japan in March.

Officials said Monday they were hopeful that other GCC member states would follow suit and also lift their restrictions on Japanese food imports.

Abe, according to the officials, said he hopes to further strengthen ties with Bahrain, stating that Bahrain is central to security in the Middle East and gulf region.

The two leaders also agreed to restart talks at a ministerial level between Japan and the six members of the GCC.

The six member states include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A similar dialogue was held in 2010 and 2011, but Abe is now pushing for negotiations to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) at an early date with the oil-rich states, officials said.

Japan hopes to enhance its ties with the GCC member states to ensure a stable supply of oil as Japan is reliant on the GCC for almost 80 percent of its oil imports, according to official statistics.

The officials added that Bahrain, specifically, is looking to Japan to increase the number of students it allows to study at Japanese universities and Japan is encouraging other GCC states to consider a number of FTAs, following a halting of talks on the matter in 2009.

Abe and Khalifa also agreed to create a forum for security dialogue between the foreign and defense ministries of their respective countries and other collaborations, spanning agriculture, medicine and anti-terrorism endeavors were also traversed by the two leaders, officials here stated.

Abe is the first incumbent Japanese prime minister ever to visit Bahrain and his six-day trip will also see him visit Kuwait, Qatar and Djibouti. Endi

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