New Delhi (ANI): Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday. After paying homage at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, Kishida also signed the visitor's book at Rajghat. Kishida, who is on a two-day official visit to India, arrived here early this morning and was received and received by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the Palam airport in the national capital.
This is Kishida's second visit to India as Prime Minister. Kishida will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is set to discuss priorities for both India's presidency of the G20 and Japan's presidency of the G7 in their bilateral talks later in the day. "I intend to engage in a comprehensive exchange of views with Prime Minister Modi on the question of what role Japan and India should play in the international community," Kishida told reporters before leaving Japan.
The Japanese PM will make a joint statement with his Indian counterpart. In addition, Prime Minister Kishida is set to exchange views on deepening the "Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership" and efforts to achieve a "free and open Indo-Pacific".
The visiting Japanese prime minister will also deliver a speech on Indo-Pacific policy at a think tank here. Indo-Pacific cooperation was initially discussed by PM Shinzo Abe during his visit to Delhi fifteen years ago.
Kishida said, "I also intend to further strengthen the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan. In addition, during my stay in India, I will discuss a new initiative related to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)". I will announce the plan. a tweet.
Addressing a news conference before his departure from Japan, Kishida said, "I will clearly set forth my vision of the role of a free and open Indo-Pacific at this historic juncture."
According to a report in Kyodo News, India is a member of the Quad, which includes Australia, Japan and the US.
Kishida is keen to strengthen ties with such countries to pave the way for the success of the G7 individual summit in Hiroshima in May.
Kishida is expected to invite PM Narendra Modi to attend the G7 in-person summit.
The visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to India is expected to last for about 27 hours.
According to a statement made public by the Ministry of External Affairs on March 10, the two leaders will hold talks on bilateral and regional matters of common concern.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that Japan is a "very important partner" and emphasized that India looks forward to exchange of views.
With both New Delhi and Tokyo currently holding the G20 and G7 presidencies respectively, Kishida's visit comes as an important opportunity for India and Japan to engage at the bilateral level since the last summit meeting in March 2022.
Japan is a very close partner of India and both countries hold annual summits and 2+2 foreign and defense ministerial meetings.
New Delhi and Tokyo are also part of the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (QUAD) along with Australia and the US. It is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States that is maintained by negotiation between member states. Working with regional friends promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific is a priority for the Quad.
In addition, defense cooperation has also emerged as one of the key areas of engagement between the two countries.
In terms of commercial and economic ties, bilateral trade between India and Japan stood at USD 20.75 billion last year, the highest ever.
Japan is also the fifth largest investor in India as a large number of Japanese companies are looking for opportunities in India in various sectors. (ANI)
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