'Privileged to welcome PM of Japan...' Rajeev Chandrasekhar receives Fumio Kishida at Delhi airport
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart are expected to focus on enhancing cooperation in a range of areas, including defence and security, trade and investment and high technologies.
FollowJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in New Delhi on Monday morning to explore ways to boost bilateral ties in a range of areas, including defence and security, trade and investment, and high technologies. Kishida was received in the national capital by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The minister later took to Twitter to say that it was a privilege for him to welcome the Japanese Prime Minister.Â
On the bilateral front, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart are expected to focus on enhancing cooperation in a range of areas, including defence and security, trade and investment and high technologies.
Both leaders are expected to discuss priorities for India's presidency of G20 and Japan's presidency of the G7. The Japanese prime minister is expected to unveil his plan for a "free and open Indo-Pacific" with a focus on India's increasingly significant role for the region during the visit. Â Â
The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military assertiveness is also likely to figure in the wide-ranging talks between Modi and Kishida. The Japanese prime minister's visit is expected to last around 27 hours.
He is expected to unveil his 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace' during a lecture at a leading think-tank in the afternoon. The plan is expected to highlight India's significance for the Indo-Pacific.
During his visit to India in March last year, Kishida announced an investment target of five trillion Yen (Rs 3,20,000 crore) in India over the next five years.
In a piece in the Indian Express, Kishida mentioned that the international community is at a historic turning point now and identified food security, climate and energy, fair and transparent development as key challenges.
"As Japan and India assumed the presidencies of the G7 and the G20 respectively this year I look forward to engaging in candid discussions with Prime Minister Modi on the roles that the G7 and the G20 should play in overcoming such challenges," he wrote.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to deepen the multi-layered bilateral relationship between our two countries, which is based on shared values and principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law," he said.
He said Japan-India relations have advanced in various fields and that Japan would like to further enhance cooperation with India in its "smart city" projects.
