India, Japan to hold 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting today

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday, will hold the third round of India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting with their Indian counterparts on Tuesday.

The meeting is scheduled to be held here at the Hyderabad House on Tuesday evening.The Japanese ministers on Monday paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the presence of External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.Prime Minister Modi welcomed the Japanese ministers and underscored the importance of holding 2+2 meeting in the context of increasingly complex regional and global order, and deepening ties between India and Japan.The Prime Minister also shared his thoughts and ideas on closer cooperation between “trusted friends” like India and Japan, especially in areas like critical minerals, semiconductors and defence manufacturing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.During the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa, who is on her first visit to India since taking over the post, said that Japan and India have a “great responsibility” for the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the international society.She also expressed her wish to “co-create” new solutions to various issues the international society is facing.Meanwhile, Japanese Defence Minister Kihara stated that the steady progress in security cooperation between Japan and India is proof that both countries recognise the importance of such cooperation, and asked Prime Minister Modi for his continued cooperation, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.Before the 2+2 talks, the Japanese Foreign Minister is also scheduled to hold discussions with EAM Jaishankar, where they will confirm their intention to deepen cooperative relations between the two countries in the areas of bilateral economic and development cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and in the international arena.Last month, during his visit to Tokyo for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting, EAM Jaishankar stated that India-Japan ties are shaped by the regional and global environment and there is a need for a “contemporary partnership” in an era of new capabilities, new technologies, new challenges and new stresses.He had, the same day, held talks with Kamikawa where she stated that Tokyo considers New Delhi as an important partner with which it intends to deepen cooperation and “co-create” new solutions through dialogue and collaboration.–IANSsha/