Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio To Visit India On March 20, 21: MEA

Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will pay an official visit to India on March 20-21. The Japanese prime minister will undertake extensive talks with his Indian counterpart, the MEA said.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will visit India to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, including commerce and investment on March 20 and 21, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on Friday. 

The Japanese prime minister will undertake extensive talks with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, covering all aspects of bilateral relations, the statement said. 

"Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will pay an official visit to India on March 20 to 21," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"During his visit, he will meet with India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Both sides will talk about bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest," the ministry said in the statement. 

According to the MEA, the two leaders will also discuss priorities for India's G20 presidency and Japan's G7 presidency.

"They will also discuss their respective G7 and G20 Presidency priorities," the MEA said.

India is currently the Group of 20 economies' 2023 chair. Due to a parliamentary session in Japan, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was unable to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. On March 3, the Japanese Foreign Minister attended the 8th Raisina Dialogue.

He addressed the panel "The QUAD Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon," and stated that the Quad is not an effort to counter or pursue military cooperation, but rather to promote practical cooperation. Minister Hayashi also stated that the Quad, as four countries with fundamental values in common, intends to lead efforts to preserve and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

Japan, along with the other G7 members, has increased economic sanctions against Russia. However, India has refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia.

India has also emerged as a key member of the "Global South," a term that refers to developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

According to the Nikkei Asia report, Kishida is eager to strengthen ties with such countries in order to ensure the success of the G7 in-person summit scheduled for May in Japan's western city of Hiroshima.

Kishida is expected to invite Modi to the G7 summit during the scheduled visit.

(With Inputs From Agencies)