Japan pledges USD 6 bn aid to Middle East ahead of G7 Summit

Japan pledged USD 6 billion in fresh aid to the Middle East today to prevent violent extremism and stabilise the region, ahead of next week's Group of Seven summit which is expected to address global hotspot issues such terrorism.
Japan is hosting the annual event that draws leaders from some of the world's richest nations including US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
They are likely to discuss security threats as well as geopolitical instability in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Japan's foreign ministry issued a statement promising to provide about USD 6 billion in aid for the troubled region between 2016 and 2018 to prevent more violent extremism and to create a "tolerant and stable society".

The support was designed to tackle root causes of problems in the Middle East, including refugees it said.
Earlier this year, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said that during the two-day summit, Japan plans to take up issues including "terrorism, the Middle East, refugees and internally displaced persons".

Separately, Japan said it would accept up to 150 Syrian students over a period of five years.
Last year it accepted only 27 refugees and rejected almost all applications, with rights groups urging the government to allow more people in.
The country has long been nervous about an influx of refugees into its homogeneous society and has tightly restricted the number it accepts.