New Delhi [India], August 30 (ANI): Former diplomat Vikas Swarup on Friday underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship between India and Japan, noting that it stands independently of different international dynamics.
‘These relationships stand on their very own. Japan has been a really longstanding associate of India; it has been the #1 associate for infrastructure improvement in India,’ Swarup advised ANI, whereas commenting on PM Modi’s two-day go to to Japan.
Highlighting the depth of cooperation, he recalled Japan’s position in India’s flagship infrastructure mission. ‘Even the Delhi Metro was commissioned with the assistance of Japanese funding,’ he added.
Swarup additional emphasised the significance of strengthening the strategic ties between the 2 nations. ‘So, from that standpoint, I feel it is crucial that the strategic partnership that we’ve got with Japan continues to deepen,’ he mentioned.
His remarks got here as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had arrived in Tokyo earlier on Friday, started a two-day official go to to attend the fifteenth India-Japan Annual Summit.
It marked his first standalone go to to the nation in practically seven years, aimed toward deepening bilateral ties and advancing the Special Strategic and Global Partnership with Japan.
The go to got here on the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. During the summit, PM Modi held in-depth talks together with his Japanese counterpart, reviewing progress throughout a number of domains and exchanging views on regional and international problems with mutual curiosity.
Following the Japan go to, he travelled to China from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.
Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, PM Modi had highlighted the significance of the journey, stating that India and Japan would concentrate on the ‘subsequent section’ of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership, which had seen regular progress over the previous 11 months.
The go to was PM Modi’s eighth to Japan since taking workplace in 2014 and his first annual summit with PM Ishiba, underscoring the excessive precedence India positioned on its relationship with Japan.
The two nations shared a protracted historical past of diplomatic engagement, together with a number of high-level visits and partnerships in commerce, funding, clear power, infrastructure, and know-how. Bilateral commerce between India and Japan reached USD 22.8 billion in 2023-24, with Japan being India’s fifth-largest supply of overseas direct funding, amounting to USD 43.2 billion as much as December 2024.
Both nations had been additionally exploring cooperation in rising sectors akin to semiconductors, startups, clear power, provide chain resilience, industrial competitiveness, and ability improvement.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, PM Modi’s go to consolidated the longstanding friendship between India and Japan, opened new avenues for cooperation, and reaffirmed the shared dedication of each nations to peace, prosperity, and stability within the Indo-Pacific area and past. (ANI)