Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, meets with Modi and announces a new Indo-Pacific strategy.
Fumio Kishida, the visiting Japanese Prime Minister, said Monday that he had a “excellent meeting” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he communicated his country’s commitment to upholding the international order based on the rule of law.
Kishida, who arrived in the morning and had a bilateral discussion with Modi, stated, “As the globe stands at a historical turning moment laden with difficulties, what role should Japan and India play?”
He claimed that he invited Modi to the G7 conference in Hiroshima and that the Indian prime minister “immediately accepted” the invitation.
Modi echoed Kishida, saying that India-Japan connections were not only advantageous to the two countries but also crucial for the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
According to Kishida, the two leaders agreed on a number of topics, including food security, environment and energy, and fair and transparent development funds.
He also praised “concrete advances” in security collaboration. He cited the effective execution of Japan’s first fighter jet exercise, Veer Guardian, in January. Following that was the 4th Dharma Guardian army exercise, which was held for the first time in Japan. Last November, India participated in the International Fleet Review in Tokyo as well as the Malabar exercise off the coast of Japan. The Japan-India Maritime Exercise preceded this in September between the two navies.
Modi discussed India’s G20 presidency and Japan’s G7 presidency, saying that it was the finest opportunity to collaborate on both sides agendas for world development. He stated that he briefed Prime Minister Kishida extensively on India’s G20 leadership priorities.
The prime minister stated that India-Japan unique strategic and global cooperation was founded on democratic principles and respect for international law and that it was also critical for the Indo-Pacific region.
Modi stated that the two sides discussed bilateral relations, particularly in the fields of defence, digital technology, commerce and investment, and health. He said both parties highlighted the significance of dependable supply chains for semiconductors and other important technology.
Kishida stated that Tokyo’s economic cooperation with New Delhi was expanding swiftly and would assist India’s continuous development and generate enormous economic prospects for Japan. “I will reveal my strategy for a free and open Indo-Pacific today on Indian soil,” Kishida said.
Kishida’s visit comes exactly a year after he visited India amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Because of divergences in Delhi and Tokyo’s views, the Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on geopolitics is an important topic of discussion. On this subject, Tokyo stands solidly with the Western bloc, led by the United States.
Relations between India and Japan were promoted to “global partnership” status in 2000, “strategic and global partnership” status in 2006, and “special strategic and global partnership” status in 2014.
Since 2006, India and Japan have hosted yearly summits, the most recent of which was held in March 2022 in New Delhi.
“Japan is a very close partner with whom we hold an annual summit as well as a 2+2 foreign and defence ministry talks. Our collaboration spans a wide range of fields, including defence and security, commerce and investment, science and technology, education, healthcare, crucial and emerging technologies, and others, according to a source.
Last year, Modi and Kishida met three times: once in March for the 14th annual summit, once in May for the Quad summit, and once in September for the state burial of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Earlier in the day, Kishida paid his respects at Rajghat and met with Modi. He’ll be leaving on Tuesday am.
