Arab News Japan

TOKYO: New Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio held a summit telephone talk with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Friday and discussed realizing a “free and open Indo-Pacific” among other topics.

Kishida thanked Modi for his tweet of congratulations after taking office. The two had met previously in Tokyo and Delhi when Kishida was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. 

Kishida noted that the partnership between Japan and India shares basic values and has made significant progress in recent years. They resolved to further develop Japan-India relations.

The two leaders also resolved to work toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” not only through bilateral cooperation, but also through quadrilateral cooperation involving Australia and the United States. In this connection, both leaders shared their strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and to economic coercion, while confirming that the two countries would deepen cooperation on economic security.

North Korea was also discussed and the two prime ministers agreed on the need to work together on global challenges, including North Korea and COVID-19.

Next year will see the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India and Kishida and Modi decided to elevate the “Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership” by promoting cooperation in a wide range of areas, including political and security issues, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. Both leaders confirmed that resuming their annual mutual visits is of particular importance. 

In addition, they looked forward to the next Japan-India Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting and further cooperation in areas such as green technology, digital fields, healthcare and enhancing connectivity.