India, Japan to galvanise Modi-Abe agenda

Building upon the famed Modi-Abe bonding during their much-publicised meeting in August last year, India and Japan have moved into 2015 with an ambitious mandate to fructify the next steps in their multifarious relationship.
The foreign ministers of India and Japan are set to hold their next round of strategic dialogue as New Delhi hosts Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kashida, the first high-level visit from Tokyo after the elections in Japan that brought Shinzo Abe to power with a brutal majority.
During their talks on January 16, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Japanese counterpart are expected to review all aspects of the blossoming relationship, which has been galvanised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal touch and investment in what the new dispensation in Delhi has identified as a major priority country for India in the years ahead.
The two foreign ministers will review the status of outcomes, including doubling of investment, during Mr Modi’s visit to Japan in September last year, Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, said ahead of the trip.
In the strategic sphere, the two countries are looking to collaborate closely in shaping an inclusive Asia-Pacific architecture, a strategic imperative which has been accentuated by China’s perceived assertiveness in the region.

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‘Japan is India’s all-weather friend, China needn’t worry’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s August 30-September 3 visit to Japan is laden with great expectations and hopes of substantive outcomes, which can transform the geopolitical dynamics of Asia. In this conversation with www.indiawrites.org, Sanjaya Baru, a well-known commentator on foreign affairs and Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, speaks about the unique character of India-Japan relations, Japan’s starring role in the development of India and his expectations from the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan. Baru, the author of The Accidental Prime Minister and Director of Geo-economics and Strategy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, predicts a robust future of India-Japan relations and underlines that Japan is and will be India’s all-weather friend in days to come.

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India and Japan: The Power of Two

Metro, Bullet Trains, Buddhism, Business, Technology and Innovation. It’s a potent brew, which is made all the more heady by the common strategic intent to co-create an Asian renaissance. It takes two to tango. And India and Japan, Asia’s two vibrant democracies and leading economies, are matching their steps perfectly, and are set to take their bilateral ties to new heights during the August 30-September 3 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan.

The maiden voyage of Narendra Modi to Japan as the leader of the world’s largest democracy and Asia’s third largest economy, is set to usher in a 3.0 phase in India-Japan relations. The launch of Japan-India Global Partnership in the 21st Century in 2000, the elevation of the ties to the level of Global and Strategic Partnership are some recent milestones in the variegated India-Japan relations. It’s time for a phase of enhancement and acceleration, and the leaders of India and Japan make a perfect pair to shepherd the multi-faceted India-Japan ties to a higher stratosphere.

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