Speaking at a news conference following talks with Mikhail Fradkov, on the second day of his visit to Tokyo, Abe said: "We have agreed that I will pay a visit to the Russian Federation in the first half of 2007."
Abe said he had a "useful exchange of opinion" with the Russian premier, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in a number of sectors.
Fradkov, accompanied by a delegation of Russian Cabinet ministers and businessmen, brought along a series of investment proposals ranging from energy and high-tech to fisheries, and a letter from President Vladimir Putin, where he urges more intensive bilateral trade and increased Japanese investment in Russia.
Japan is now ranked among Russia's 10 leading investors, with accrued investment last year hitting $2.5 billion, a five-fold increase on 2005.
"We are beginning talks on a cooperation agreement in the civilian nuclear energy sector," Abe said, adding that the two countries also planned to step up cooperation in the railroad transportation and aviation sectors.
Russia has reportedly proposed setting up a joint venture to enrich uranium for Japanese nuclear power plants on Russian soil. An annual of 6,500 metric tons of nuclear fuel for Japan's NPPs are currently processed in Britain and France.
Russian media reports earlier said Russia's state-controlled Vneshekonombank was about to conclude a deal with a consortium of Japanese banks, led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, on a $200 million loan to build a new terminal at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Earlier Wednesday, Russian car manufacturer Severstal Avto and one of Japan's leading truck producers, Isuzu, signed an agreement to produce trucks in Russia.
Russian business daily Kommersant also said Wednesday that Russian Transportation Minister Igor Levitin invited Japanese business to invest in a $90 billion project to build a tunnel to link Russia's Far East island of Sakhalin to mainland Russia.
Territorial dispute
Abe said he hoped the agreements would help the two countries resolve persisting problems in their relations, primarily their territorial dispute.
Russia and Japan have contested the ownership of the Kuril Islands for over 60 years, a dispute that has kept the countries from signing a formal peace treaty. Japan maintains that their seizure by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II was illegal.
In the Treaty of San Francisco signed by Japan and the Allied Powers in 1951, which formally ended WWII, Japan renounced its rights to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. However, the four southern Kuril Islands were not specifically mentioned in the treaty, which was not signed by the Soviet Union.
Last year, Russia offered to return to Japan the Shikotan and Khabomai islands, whose combined area accounts for 6% of the disputed territory, on the condition that Tokyo renounce its claims to the two larger islands, Iturup and Kunashir.
Japan rejected the proposal, claiming its right to all four islands.
Energy supplies concerns
Another issue of concern for Japan is the guarantee of energy supplies from Russia's Far East. Japan, which has no energy resources of its own, fears that Russian energy giant Gazprom, which gained control over the vast $20 billion gas project Sakhalin II late last year, could reroute liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies currently destined for Japan.
But Russia's industry and energy minister reaffirmed Wednesday Moscow's commitment to the agreed format of the project.
"We and our Japanese colleagues are very interested in completing the deal in the earlier agreed format and according to the timetable stipulated in the contract," Viktor Khristenko said.
Gazprom bought 50% plus one share in Sakhalin II for $7.45 billion by acquiring 27.5% from Royal Dutch/Shell, and 12.5% and 10% from Japan's Mitsui and Mitsubishi, respectively. Khristenko said the deal would be finalized in March.
