Next Step In Indo-Japan Ties: Sushma Swaraj To Visit Japan
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will pay a working visit to Japan from 28-30th March, 2018. Her visit comes at the invitation of Taro Kono, External Affairs Minister of Japan. During her visit, Swaraj is all set to co-chair the India-Japan strategic dialogue with Kono.
The two countries will review the gambit of bilateral relations during EAM’s visit. The two sides will also exchange views on national and international issues of common interest.
This is the first high-level bilateral visit post the Japanese PM Abe Shinzo’s visit to India in September 2017.
Abe’s visit last year was a landmark visit in a lot of ways. During his visit, the ground-breaking ceremony of inauguration of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, to be built with Japanese aid took place. India and Japan concluded a special strategic and global partnership at the time.
As per a statement from the MEA (Ministry OF External Affairs), today, Japan is one of the largest investors in India with a growing presence in infrastructure projects, manufacturing, financial markets and capacity-building, among others.
In 2015, Japan joined India in its annual naval exercise with the US called Malabar.
Japan and India are also a part of the Quad (Australia-India-Japan-US). Quad is a coalition of the four countries that would patrol and exert influence on waterways from the Indian Ocean to Pacific to the disputed South China Sea.
Quad was first mooted by Japanese’s PM Abe in 2007.
India-Japan trade stood at $13.61 billion in fiscal 2016-17, showing a decrease of 6.21 per cent over fiscal 2015-16, when the total trade was $14.51 billion. The bilateral trade during April-August 2017 was $6.183 billion.
The two countries are also part of the recently revived quad that also includes the US and Australia.
