TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio is considering inviting his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, to the Group of Seven summit in the western Japan city of Hiroshima in May, informed sources said Sunday.

Kishida hopes to extend the invitation when he holds talks with Modi in New Delhi on Monday, according to the sources.

On Sunday night, Kishida left for India on a government jet from Tokyo International Airport at Haneda. He plans to return to Japan in the early hours of Wednesday.

Through his visit to India, the prime minister aims to strengthen Japan’s cooperation with India, which is this year’s chair of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies.

Ahead of his departure, Kishida told reporters at the prime minister’s official residence, “I’d like to have in-depth dialogue with Prime Minister Modi on what roles Japan and India should play in the international community.” He added that he will work on strengthening Japan-India ties.

At the Hiroshima summit, the G-7 leaders will discuss ways to maintain and strengthen international order based on the rule of law, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s hegemonic behavior in mind. They are also expected to take up food price surges and other issues facing developing countries, and Kishida judged that it would be indispensable to win cooperation from India.

Kishida will aim to affirm with Modi that they will keep in step with each other on these issues.

On Monday, Kishida will deliver a speech at a gathering of the Indian Council of World Affairs, an Indian think tank, in which he will announce a new action plan to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. He is expected to call for bolstering development cooperation for developing economies and supporting partner countries’ efforts to strengthen their security capabilities.

JIJI Press