New Delhi: Close coordination with India is key to a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region, Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday at the India-Japan Forum in New Delhi.
Hayashi also called India “an indispensable partner” in achieving Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s goal of a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
At the meet, both nations expressed willingness to work together in various spheres including critical technologies, and increase cooperation within the “special strategic and global partnership” between New Delhi and Tokyo.
Hayashi landed in New Delhi Thursday on a two-day visit to India, at the start of a six-nation tour across South Asia and Africa. He will also visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives later this week.
Speaking at the forum, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called Japan “a natural partner” for India as well as a “moderniser” which “contributed to many revolutions in India” over the past decades, such as bringing the Maruti and metro trains to the nation.
He said that the Maruti revolution was not only about a car, but brought about a change in lifestyle, thinking and culture within the country, while the second revolution, the metro, had a profound impact on urban infrastructure.
Jaishankar further said, “The third revolution, high speed rail, is currently in the making. Once the project is completed, people in India will see its ripple effect well beyond the world of railways. Another revolution within this relationship is critical technologies, where there is huge potential for both countries to work together.”
The Japanese foreign minister discussed numerous aspects of the relationship between Indian and Japan, from pushing the outcomes of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May to developing closer strategic ties, especially with respect to the Indo-Pacific.
Referring to the G7 Summit, Hayashi reiterated the grouping’s resolve to oppose attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific by force, hinting at China’s increasingly aggressive tactics in the region.
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Security, defence, investment on table
On Thursday, Jaishankar and Hayashi also met at the 15th Japan-India Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue and discussed the progress made on the high-speed Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail project, as well as cooperation on development projects in the Northeast.
While acknowledging Japan’s “powerful impact” on India’s urbanisation process, Jaishankar advised Tokyo to view India as a country with greater capabilities and, therefore, make the relationship more collaborative.
Hayashi and Jaishankar also discussed greater cooperation in matters of security, defence and increasing public-private investment in India to meet the target of five trillion yen investment over five years that was set during Kishida’s visit to New Delhi in March last year.
The two ministers talked about improving cultural exchanges between the countries through tourism and international students, as well as cooperation within the Quad (that comprises India, Japan, US and Australia) and UN Security Council reforms.
A statement put out by Japan after Thursday’s meeting mentioned talks with India on issues such as the situation in Ukraine and East Asia. However, there was no mention of talks on the Russia-Ukraine situation in a similar statement put out by India.
Japan, along with the West, has strongly criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. India, meanwhile, hasn’t condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine and has urged both sides to work out their differences through diplomacy. It is currently one of the top buyers of Russian oil.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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