Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in New Delhi today in the early morning to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relationships in different fields, including high technologies, trade, investment, and defence and security.
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida are scheduled to meet later in the day to discuss India’s G20 presidency and Japan’s G7 presidency.
In this visit, the Japanese prime minister is expected to reveal his idea for a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” emphasizing India’s increasingly remarkable role in the region. Furthermore, in the extensive discussions between PM Modi and PM Kishida, the changing security environment in the Indo-Pacific against the backdrop of China’s growing military aggression is also likely to come up.
The visit of the Japanese prime minister is expected to last for roughly 27 hours.
In the afternoon, he is expected to present his “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace” at a prestigious think tank.
The strategy is predicted to highlight India’s importance to the Indo-Pacific region.
In his keynote address at the famous Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June of last year, Prime Minister Kishida promised to outline the Indo-Pacific strategy in the spring.
There he had stated that By next spring, he would structure a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace” that would support Japan’s efforts to promote the idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific, with stress on providing patrol vessels and improving maritime law enforcement capabilities, as well as economic security, cyber security, and digital and green initiatives.
Japan’s policy and strategy towards the Indo-Pacific are expected to be covered in detail under the plan.
Almost all of the major powers have released their Indo-Pacific plans in recent years.
Japan has promoted a free and open Indo-Pacific in an effort to uphold and strengthen the rules-based international order in the area.
