PM Modi listening, Japan’s Kishida calls out Russia’s aggression against Ukraine

Modi did not mention Ukraine directly, only making a reference to “geopolitical developments”.

After their meeting in New Delhi, Kishida said, “I have expressed my views to Prime Minister Modi. I said that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by use of force should never be allowed in any sphere.”

He added that PM Modi and he have agreed that a “peaceful solution is needed for all problems as per international law”. In view of these developments, both countries should make efforts for a free and open Indo-Pacific, he added, Japan, along with India, will keep appealing for a ceasefire and that the conflict is resolved through diplomacy, he said.

It was Kishida’s first visit to India as the Japan PM. After his meeting with Modi, Japan announced a plan to invest 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) in India over five years. The two sides also signed pacts on cyber-security and announced a clean energy partnership.

#WATCH Japan will invest 5 trillion Yen or Rs 3.2 lakh crores in the next five years in India, says PM Modi pic.twitter.com/IlpJQbbmAp

— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2022

Kishida and Modi also agreed to convene a two-plus-two meeting between the two countries’ Foreign and Defence ministers at the earliest, the official said.

As the two leaders met, Prime Minister Modi’s office tweeted with pictures of the two leaders at the Hyderabad House, “Advancing friendship with Japan. Prime Ministers @narendramodi and  @kishida230 held productive talks in New Delhi. Both leaders discussed ways to boost economic and cultural linkages between the two countries.”

Advancing friendship with Japan.

Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @kishida230 held productive talks in New Delhi. Both leaders discussed ways to boost economic and cultural linkages between the two countries. pic.twitter.com/GYhHjlarKY

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 19, 2022

Ahead of his visit, in an exclusive piece for The Indian Express published on Saturday, Kishida wrote, “Today, I am visiting India, making my first bilateral visit since my appointment as Prime Minister. Linked by universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, which have been shared through a long history of exchange, Japan and India are “Special Strategic and Global Partners,” which share strategic interests.”

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law as well as an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, and it is totally unacceptable. Upholding the core principles of the international order is indispensable from the perspective of diplomacy and security in the Indo-Pacific, where the situation has been rapidly worsening,” he further wrote.

He added, “Today, the international community faces a situation that is undermining the very foundation of the global order…In the recent Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) Leaders’ Video Conference, in which Prime Minister Modi and I participated, we concurred that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, such as this time, must not be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific region, and that it is precisely because of this situation that it is critical to further promote efforts toward the realisation of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.”

Kishida, who had come to India earlier as Japan’s Foreign Minister, has met PM Narendra Modi four times in the past few years. But this is also his first bilateral visit overseas—he had visited Glasgow to attend COP26 in November last year.

The last summit between the Indian and Japanese PMs was held in Japan in 2018.

The annual summit between Modi and his then Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Guwahati was cancelled in December 2019 in the wake of massive protests rocking the Assam capital over the amended citizenship law.

Kishida’s visit is important as this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Modi had spoken to Kishida on phone in October 2021 soon after the latter had assumed office. Both sides had expressed desire to further strengthen the special strategic and global partnership. Given the evolving geo-political and economic situation, both sides are looking to deepen partnership, sources said.

Kishida, who was sworn in as the Japan PM on October 4, 2021, arrived on Saturday in the afternoon and will depart on Sunday morning.

The two countries have deepened their strategic ties as there is “convergence on free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific”. Also, sources said that there has been progress in defence and security and in regional context.

Sources said that the two countries are also involved in the Act East Forum—a decision was taken in the 2017 summit to establish the India-Japan Act East Forum. The objective is to coordinate developmental projects in North-East India in areas of connectivity, forest management, disaster risk reduction and capacity building.

Officials said several projects, including upgrading of highways in Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, are underway. Modi had last year laid the foundation stone of a 20-km bridge over the Brahmaputra river between Assam and Meghalaya.

Sources said the two sides are working on a Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)—the Trade and Economy Ministers of India, Japan and Australia launched the SCRI on April 27, 2021. The initiative seeks to enhance the resilience of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region and to develop dependable sources of supply and to attract investment. As initial projects, sharing of best practices on supply chain resilience and holding of a matching event have been completed.

On the economic front, since Modi’s visit to Japan in 2014, tremendous progress has been made on implementation of several important decisions, which have been taken by the PMs.

“We have achieved the target of Japanese Yen 3.5 trillion public and private investments in India, which was announced by Modi and Abe in 2014 (Investment Promotion Partnership),” the source said.

There are 1,455 Japanese companies in India and 11 Japan Industrial Townships (JIT) have been established—Neemrana in Rajasthan and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh have the most number of companies.

Japan is the 5th largest source of FDI and largest supplier of ODA (development partner of India).

Several infrastructure projects are underway through Japanese assistance, including Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, Dedicated Freight Corridor, metro projects and DMIC among others.

The summit could not be held in 2020 as well as in 2021 primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Japan is set to hold an in-person summit of Quad leaders this year and Modi is expected to attend it.