New Delhi: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida landed in India on Friday to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit scheduled to be held in the national capital. At the airport, Kishida was received by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ashwini Kumar Choubey. At the G20 summit in India, Kishida plans to show Japan’s stance of proactively contributing to various global issues, based on the results of the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May, Japanese media reported.
“The agenda in India will include global food security, which has been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as development, digital transformation and other international issues,” according to NHK. (Also Read: G20 Summit 2023: World Leaders Arrive In India, Receive Tradition Welcome! Check PICS)
Earlier this year, PM Modi met his Japanese counterpart in Hiroshima, where he attended the G7 Summit. During the G7 Summit, Prime Minister Modi spoke with partner countries on subjects such as peace, stability, and prosperity of a sustainable planet; food, fertiliser and energy security; health; gender equality; climate change and environment; resilient infrastructure; and development cooperation. (Also Read: G20 Summit 2023: PM Modi-President Biden Bilateral Talks Today, Here’s What’s On AGENDA)
The cooperation between India and Japan continues to deepen over time as the two nations share historical linkages with exchanges between the two countries being traced to the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced in Japan.
As both nations deal with the challenges provided by an aggressive China in the Asian region, India’s political ties to Japan have grown significantly over the past few decades.
The commitment of India and Japan to a free and open Indo-Pacific, boosting economic cooperation, and encouraging people-to-people interactions is highlighted by their most recent strategic discussion.
In the lead-up to both the G20 and G7 summits, the visit of Japanese PM Kishida to India in March bolstered further commitment between the two countries to work together for the realisation of a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
India and Japan have already developed various frameworks of security partnership including a ‘2+2’ Dialogue involving Foreign and Defence ministers. The two countries regularly participate in joint military exercises such as the Malabar Exercise and have various partnership agreements ranging from defence equipment trade to military logistics.
Japan is India’s 13th-largest trading partner, whereas India is Japan’s 18th-largest. With Japan’s private sector investment in India steadily increasing, it is among the top five foreign investors in India.
India and Japan’s joint efforts to foster a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region demonstrate the strength and potential of their ever-strengthening relationship.
