New Delhi (TIP)- Japan’s foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday, July 28, held up India as an “indispensable” partner for achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, while his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar said the two sides are “natural partners” for taking on challenges in areas ranging from the economy to emerging technologies. The two ministers were speaking at the second India-Japan Forum organised by the external affairs ministry. India was the first stop on Hayashi’s three-nation tour, which will also take him to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. During talks on Thursday, Jaishankar and Hayashi discussed ways to step up Japanese investments in India and deepen defence cooperation.
Building on the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” vision unveiled by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to New Delhi in March this year, Hayashi said Japan intends to deepen cooperation with India in all areas. Japan and India are also working closely together under their presidencies of the G7 and the G20 respectively, he said.
Pointing to Kishida announcing the new FOIP plan in New Delhi, he said: “This fact itself is a reflection of the critical importance Japan places on India, as your nation is an indispensable partner in achieving FOIP.”
Hayashi added: “At a time when there are many pressing challenges, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Japan and India fully share the necessity to lead the world to cooperation, rather than to division and confrontation.”
Lauding the Indian G20 presidency’s focus on the Global South, Hayashi said the call to uphold a rules-based international order may sound like a slogan if there isn’t an adequate commitment to address challenges facing developing countries. At the same time, he noted that food security has deteriorated because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Hayashi said India and Japan have made progress in new initiatives in areas such as cyber and space, while discussions are underway for “substantial cooperation” in defence equipment and technology.
In his speech, Jaishankar highlighted key challenges confronting the world, including artificial intelligence, building reliable supply chains, ensuring trust and transparency in the digital domain, and upholding democratic values.
Jaishankar said India and Japan are natural partners for jointly addressing these challenges. “I would say today whether it is the future of the international order, strategy, economics, technology, culture or indeed whether it’s history or geography, I think India and Japan have a lot going for each other,” he said.
Hayashi also spoke about Japan’s plans to revise its “Development Cooperation Charter”, the basic document for development cooperation. “Under this revised charter, we will continue to undertake efforts to build quality infrastructure in India, including high-speed rail and urban transportation,” he said.
When a Japanese reporter pointed out that a bilateral partnership is tested by a war or a crisis and asked how the two sides would collaborate in case of a war in the Taiwan Strait or a conflict on the India-China border, Jaishankar replied: “I fundamentally disagree with your question because I think it is actually peacetime cooperation which is when you are tested, because if you don’t work every day to build a relationship and to put in place capabilities, comfort and structures, then when something more severe comes – if I can’t handle a good day, how will I handle a difficult day.” Source: HT