Japan PM Fumio Kishida arrives in India, defence and trade on agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Photo: PMO India Twitter handle)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in New Delhi on March 20 to explore ways to boost bilateral ties in a range of areas, including defence & security, trade & investment, and high technologies.

In their talks later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PM Kishida are also set to discuss priorities for India's presidency of G20 and Japan's presidency of the G7.

The Japanese Prime Minister will be in India between March 20 and 21.

He will formally invite his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to be a special guest at the upcoming G7 summit in Hiroshima this May.

At a time when the rhetoric in the West about the threat of nuclear weapons has risen, the significance of holding the G7 in Hiroshima, the first city in the world where an atom bomb was dropped during WWII, cannot be lost.

Nearly two years of lockdown during the pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine war have disrupted supply chains of food, energy, and other essentials, exacerbating the situation for the world’s poor and developing countries.

Currently, Japan has the presidency of the G7, which comprises the rich economies of the world — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States.

India has the presidency of the G20, which includes the G7, plus the developing nations of the world.

The G20 is widely considered the most important forum for discussing the health of the global economy and the challenges to its development and growth.

The G7 members, who traditionally hold their summit before the G20, act as a cohesive unit and speak in one voice on issues they consider important.

This has often resulted in issues that are important to the developing world being ignored.

Since assuming the presidency of the G20, India has made it clear that it will use this important forum and its leadership to be the voice of the Global South, which includes most countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, comprising nearly two-thirds of the world’s population.

India and Japan will attempt to synergise their efforts to see how the North and South can collaborate to build resilient supply chains and reinvigorate the economy.

During his stay, Kishida will meet Prime Minister Modi and the Indian leadership to discuss how the two countries can ensure the success of both the G7 summit in May and the G20 summit in September.

In addition, he will also hold talks on the progress of bilateral, regional, and global developments that are of mutual interest to both countries.

This is Kishida’s second visit to the country as Prime Minister. In March last year, he had chosen India as the first country for his official visit.

He and Modi have met three times, including during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Tokyo last May for the Quad summit, and in September 2022 for the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Recently, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi’s absence from the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Delhi due to commitments in Japan’s parliament raised questions in diplomatic circles.

Kishida’s visit to Delhi will put any such speculations to rest about the state of the bilateral relations. The current high in Japan-India relations began under Abe’s initiative, and the process has moved forward under Kishida as well.

The two countries have forged a ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ and share a global vision of peace, stability, and prosperity based on sustainable development.

They also acknowledge democratic values and commitment to human rights, pluralism, open society, and rule of law as the underpinning of the global partnership between countries.

Their partnership has evolved into an inclusive and multi-layered relationship based on cultural bonds, firm friendship, and common universal values.

During his earlier visit, Kishida had said in a signed article in the Indian Express that Japan was keen to find solutions to various social challenges, including the digital divide, climate change, and economic security.

Kishida highlighted India’s contribution during the global health crisis as a major manufacturing base, its leadership in decarbonisation efforts and advancing a digital society through initiatives like Aadhar, and its promotion of economic security through supply chain resilience.

Earlier, Japan helped India revolutionise its transport and infrastructure sectors by introducing the Maruti cars, building the metro railway system, and also the bullet train under its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) programme.

The two countries are now trying to seek reforms in international organisations to match the changing realities of the world, and are also working closely to address challenges in cybersecurity and climate change.

As a country, Japan is the fifth largest investor in India with a cumulative FDI (foreign direct investment) of  $38.3 bn from April 2000, and bilateral trade worth over $20.5 bn in FY21-22.

The two countries also collaborate on defence and hold regular  ‘2+2’ meetings between their defence and foreign ministers. Since last April, they have started a strategic and security dialogue as well.

A major focus of the Kishida-Modi talks will remain on how the Global North can help the Global South with the economic and social advantages that flow from artificial intelligence and technological infrastructure.