Amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday visited New Delhi to attend the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit and hold extensive bilateral discussions on a wide range of issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the end of the summit, India and Japan signed six agreements in the areas including cyber security, wastewater management and clean energy.
At a special briefing late evening, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told mediapersons that the Prime Ministers held restricted talks followed by delegation level talks. The two leaders also set a target of 5 trillion Japanese yen investment into India over the next five years. The last target of 3.5 trillion Japanese yen investment in India was set in 2014 during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Japan and it has already been exceeded.
The Foreign Secretary said it was the first visit of PM Kishida outside Japan after he took over in October. He will be leaving New Delhi on Sunday morning. The 14th Annual Summit took place after a gap of nearly three and a half years as the last summit was held in 2018 in Japan and the onset of pandemic and other factors delayed holding of the summit. India and Japan are also celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. He said that PM Modi was also invited for the next Quad Summit which would be held in Japan.
Describing talks between the two leaders as “substantive” which covered the entire gamut of bilateral relations, the Foreign Secretary said they also stressed upon development, peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
He said that PM Modi apprised PM Kishida about China’s aggression in Eastern Ladakh and informed him that unless peace and tranquility on the border returned, it would not be possible to have normal relations with Beijing.
Answering queries on Russia-Ukraine war and India’s stand on it, Shringla said the two leaders emphasised upon immediate cessation of violence and taking the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict. The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine also came up for discussion and PM Modi informed his Japanese counterpart that India has already sent seven tranches of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its neighbouring nations which include medicines, blankets, sleeping mats and other items.
The two Prime Ministers held productive talks and discussed ways to boost economic and cultural linkages between the two countries and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest so as to advance the partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. India and Japan have multi-faceted cooperation within the ambit of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership. The two leaders also signed a joint statement.
In his press statement, Prime Minister Modi said today India presents limitless possibilities for Make in India for the world. He said Japanese companies have been our brand ambassadors for a long time.
PM Modi said Japan’s cooperation in India’s flagship projects such as the Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail has been remarkable. He said there has been good progress in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project.
He said it is imperative to achieve the goal of sustainable economic growth and tackle the problem of climate change. He said India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership will prove to be a decisive step in this direction.
In his statement Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, the whole world has been shaken today due to many disturbances. He said it is very important for India and Japan to have a close partnership. PM Kishida said, both of them expressed their views and talked about the military operation of Russia into Ukraine. The Japanese Prime Minister emphasised on a peaceful solution on the basis of international law.
The two Prime Ministers also addressed the India-Japan Economic Forum towards realising the full potential of the economic partnership. PM Modi spoke about reforms taken by his Government and invited Japanese companies to invest in India.
The 14th India Japan Annual Summit is the first meeting of PM Modi and PM Kishida who arrived in the Capital this afternoon on a two-day visit.