Ahead of his visit to New Delhi, Fumio Kishida has written a letter explaining the India-Japan ties while listing the topics to be discussed during the visit.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to arrive in India on Saturday for a two-day trip as part of the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit. During the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet and hold talks with his Japanese counterpart. Ahead of the visit to New Delhi, Fumio Kishida has written a letter explaining the India-Japan ties while mentioning the topics to be discussed during the visit.
According to the Japanese PM, discussions on strengthening bilateral ties in diverse areas and advancing cooperation for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond remains a major part of the visit. Writing ahead of his visit, Kishida said that Japan and India share a long history of exchange and are “Special Strategic and Global Partners,” which share strategic interests. The rejuvenation of the economy post-COVID, reformation of international organisations, international challenges like cybersecurity and climate change will be among the talking points during Kishida’s meeting with PM Modi.
Japanese PM Fumio Kishida on India-Japan relations
Speaking about his visit to New Delhi, Kishida wrote, “Linked by universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, which have been shared through a long history of exchange, Japan and India are ‘Special Strategic and Global Partners,’ which share strategic interests.” He further added that he was looking forward to building on the relationship between the countries on the milestone year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India.
“Today, the international community faces a situation that is undermining the very foundation of the global order. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law as well as an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, and it is totally unacceptable. Upholding the core principles of the international order is indispensable from the perspective of diplomacy and security in the Indo-Pacific, where the situation has been rapidly worsening,” Japan PM said while speaking about the points to be discussed in the upcoming meeting, as cited by The Indian Express.
“Japan will unite with the international community and take resolute actions. In the recent Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) Leaders’ Video Conference, in which Prime Minister Modi and I participated, we concurred that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, such as this time, must not be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific region, and that it is precise because of this situation that it is critical to further promote efforts toward the realisation of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”,” he added. Calling India a special partner, Kishida said that he looked to resolve several common issues during his visit. “I am looking forward to meeting the people of India,” the Japanese PM said while concluding the letter.