TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Japan's prime minister says his country has entered into a pact with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to boost economic and political ties with the three former Soviet republics.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said after meeting on Saturday that information technology, transportation and medicine are areas where Japan sees the most potential in the Baltic countries.

Abe praised the cargo harbor in Riga, Latvia's capital, as "a successful center of transportation and logistics" that will allow Asian suppliers to deliver goods to the region.

Latvia is the second leg of Abe's six-nation European tour that started in Estonia on Friday. Abe is scheduled to also visit Lithuania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. He is the first sitting Japanese prime minister to ever visit those countries.