NEW DELHI: India and Japan will reaffirm their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific with a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday.
This will be the first in-person India Japan summit since 2018 and, as the government said, will provide an opportunity for both sides to strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest “so as to advance their partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond”.
The 14th annual summit with Japan will be followed by another summit meeting between Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on Monday. The situation in Ukraine is expected to figure prominently in Modi’s back-to-back summit meetings with India’s Quad partners.
India remains the only Quad country not to have condemned Russia’s military action in Ukraine. While calling upon India to take a more unambiguous position on Ukraine, Kishida is also expected to raise concerns about alleged human rights violations in China and also Chinese activities in East and South China Sea.
Modi on Monday will hold the second India-Australia virtual Summit. “…The leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others,” said the government in a statement.
India’s stand on Ukraine is in stark contrast to the position held by both Japan and Australia. While Japan has imposed sanctions on Russia for its Ukraine invasion, Australia has even warned China of consequences if it supports Russia’s actions saying China’s needs to be transparent about its ties with Moscow. “Views on regional and international issues of mutual interest will also be discussed by the leaders. The summit highlights the importance attached by both countries to their bilateral relations as also their close cooperation on regional and global issues,” it added.
The India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward trajectory with both countries continuing to collaborate closely, despite the pandemic, in wide-ranging areas, including science and technology, defence, water resource management, as among others, the government said.