India-Japan Japanese PM discusses cooperation in Indo-Pacific region with PM Modi
Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday when the two leaders discussed the issue of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the positive momentum in India-Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership in the last few years, guided by mutual trust and shared values, read a statement issued by the Indian Prime Minister's Office.
They appreciated that bilateral exchanges were maintained over the last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also welcomed the recent signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on Specified Skilled Workers (SSW) and looked forward to its early implementation.
Prime Minister Modi noted the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project as a shining example of India-Japan bilateral strategic partnership and expressed his commitment to its successful implementation.
The two leaders further exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest and concurred that the partnership between the two countries could play a pivotal role in addressing common challenges.
In this regard, they emphasized that their engagement with like-minded countries such as Australia and the U.S. in the form of Quad consultations holds value and agreed that these useful discussions must continue.
The two leaders noted that the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries would fall in 2022 and agreed that this event be celebrated in a befitting manner.
The Prime Minister invited Prime Minister Suga to visit India at the earliest for the Annual Bilateral Summit.
As per Japanese Foreign Ministry released statement, the two leaders shared the recognition that cooperation towards realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific is becoming increasingly important and to this end, shared the view to steadily advance both Japan-India bilateral cooperation and Japan-Australia-India-U.S. quadrilateral cooperation.
The two leaders also exchanged views on the regional situation. In this context, Prime Minister Suga expressed serious concerns regarding unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Sea, China’s Coast Guard Law and the situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), read the statement.
Prime Minister Suga also asked for understanding and cooperation toward the early resolution of the abductions issue by North Korea. Furthermore, the two leaders confirmed that they have grave concerns over the situation in Myanmar and they would closely work together in this vein.
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