Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi is to begin next Sunday a five-day visit to Japan. During the visit, at the invitation of the Japanese government, al-Qirbi will hold talks with Japanese Foreign Minister and a number of officials at the Ministries of Industry, Trade and Economy as well as at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The talks aim to assess aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries and discuss future prospects for improving the mutual relations in various fields, as well as reviewing the developments on the regional and international arenas of common interest. The Foreign Minister returned home on Thursday after taking part in the joint meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was held Wednesday in Kuwait to prepare for the GCC summit slated for next December.