Japanese PM arrives in India, set to sign deal worth $42 billion

The Russian invasion of Ukraine will be on top of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s agenda during his two-day visit to India beginning Saturday (March 19). Kishida is here to attend the 14th India-Japan summit with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Kishida, who succeeded Yoshihide Suga as Japan’s Prime Minister in October last year, will be the first Japanese head of state to visit India in five years. The last time it happened was when then PM Shinzo Abe paid a visit in 2017.

Kishida said he would speak to Modi in putting up a unified approach to the Ukraine crisis and improve security ties across the Indo-Pacific region. “Since my trip to India coincides with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I’d like to stress the importance of putting up a united international front. I am confident that Japan and India will work together on various issues,” Kishida said before leaving for New Delhi.

India, Japan, Australia and the US are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a security framework, which mainly aims at countering Chinese threat in the region.

All Quad member countries, except India, have condemned Russia for attacking Ukraine. Japan has imposed sanctions on several Russian firms as well as billionaires.

On the bilateral front, PM Kishida is likely to declare an investment of 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) in India over the next five years.  Japan has been actively aiding infrastructure projects in India with a high-speed bullet train being a part of it. In 2020, the two countries signed a cross-servicing pact that permits reciprocal stocks of food, fuel and other supplies between defence forces.

Ahead of Kishida’s visit, the two countries on Tuesday reviewed bilateral cooperation, including the progress of ongoing projects in the areas of connectivity, hydropower and skill development. The same day, the two sides held the sixth joint meeting of the India-Japan Act East Forum (AEF) in Delhi.

The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Japanese Ambassador Suzuki Satoshi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

“They reviewed the progress of ongoing projects in various areas including connectivity, hydropower, forest management, water supply and sewerage, skill development and Japanese language education,” the MEA said in a statement.

It said the two sides also exchanged views on possible new areas of cooperation.

The MEA said the meeting was attended by representatives of the relevant ministries and state governments of the northeastern region.

“In addition, officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Foundation (JF) participated,” it added.

Japan has evinced interests in assisting the north-eastern states in implementing various development projects.