India, Japan Support A Free, Open And Prosperous Indo-Pacific

NEW DELHI. “India-Japan ties are at their best ever,” Kenji Hiramatsu, Japan’s Ambassador to India, told India Strategic days before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in India for the 12th annual India-Japan summit in the Gujarat capital Ahmedabad.

- Nilova Roy Chaudhury

The mutual warmth and the outcome of the discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Abe September 13 and 14 appeared to amply reflect the sentiment behind that statement. The title of the Joint Statement issued at the end of the summit, “Towards a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific” itself also outlined the state of the relationship and mutual desire for peace and prosperity around the two countries.

The two leaders decided to work together to elevate their partnership to the next level to advance common strategic objectives to reflect the growing convergence in political, economic and strategic interests.

The bilateral bonhomie was particularly on display when, after a welcome befitting royalty on arrival and a guided tour of India’s first UNESCO-designated heritage city, Prime Ministers Modi and Abe together laid the foundation stone for the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the Gujarat capital. They hoped the 508-kmlong Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, to be built at a cost of $17 billion, would do for the Indian economy what the Shinkansen bullet train did for Japan’s economy.

Speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony, Mr Abe said, “A new Japan was born in 1964 after the Shinkansen’s launch. Modi plans to do the same for a new India, and we are determined to realise his plan,” he said. The strategic partnership between the two nations would help make India the “world’s factory,” the Japanese PM said.

“India and Japan will play a major role in Asia’s emergence,” said the Indian Prime Minister. “The growing convergence between India and Japan on strategic and economic issues has the capacity to stimulate the global economy. Strong India and Strong Japan will also be a stabilising factor in Asia and the world,” he observed.