Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven (right) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a press conference at the government headquarters Rosenbad in Stockholm on July 9, 2017 | Maja Suslin/AFP via Getty Images Japan PM Shinzo Abe says raising the ‘flag of free trade’ is vital During Stockholm visit, the Japanese prime minister said the trade deal with the EU would promote economic growth and boost jobs.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke of the “importance of a Europe that maintains strong unity within itself” on his first visit to Sweden on Sunday, following the G20 summit in Hamburg.

“It is also quite vital that we keep on raising high the flag of free trade," Abe said just days after announcing a political deal on an expansive free trade arrangement with the EU in Brussels.

Abe said the two sides had agreed to move on to drafting the full accord text over the coming months in Stockholm. Earlier, at the G20 meeting in Hamburg, attended by the leaders of the world’s 19 premier economies and the European Union, Abe said that free trade "needs to be maintained at the high level".

“We have also sent a strong message to the world that we support free trade,” said Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven during the post-summit press conference in Sweden on Sunday. “The agreement will promote economic growth, more jobs and people-to-people benefits.”

On the topic of Brexit, Löfven said Japan’s export-driven economy would find Sweden an attractive alternative to the U.K. after it leaves the bloc. Abe noted the good "functionality" of Swedish-made cars and clothes.