A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP DEEPENS

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida’s two-day visit to India, the first in-person summit since prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan in October 2018, has succeeded in further consolidating the Special Strategic and Global Partnership in a year that marks 70 years of diplomatic ties.

- Sujan Chinoy

The hiatus in summitry in the past few years notwithstanding, bilateral ties have greatly strengthened since 2014. As the chief minister of Gujarat, PM Modi had an excellent understanding of Japan’s potential role in transforming the Indian economy. His personal friendship with Shinzo Abe not only stood the test of time but also laid an enduring foundation for the future. Abe’s successors, prime ministers Yoshihide Suga and Kishida, were key players in that process.

Kishida’s visit provided an invaluable opportunity to work in tandem for sustainable growth in a post-Covid world with a focus on the Quad Vaccine Partnership, critical technologies, resilient supply chains, infrastructure, and clean energy. As the world embraces the goal of carbon neutrality, the launch of the India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership harbours enormous scope for collaboration in the production of electric vehicles, batteries, charging infrastructure, solar technology, hydrogen and ammonia.