Indian, Japanese foreign ministers meet

Gurgaon, Nov 12: The Indian and Japanese foreign ministers met on Tuesday on the margins of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) meeting here, ahead of the visit of the Japanese Emperor and Empress to India later this month.

This was the third meeting between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida this year.

The talks between the two focused on the India visit of the Japanese emperor and empress, who are to arrive in Delhi Nov 30. They will go to Chennai Dec 4.

Khurshid and Kishida also discussed various bilateral issues including matters related to enhanced economic engagement between the two countries. The two ministers discussed the possibilities of cooperation in international fora, including the UN, on matters of common interest, said a source.

India is the largest recipient of Japanese official development assistance (ODA). In March this year, Japan granted India a $2.32 billion aid for infrastructure building.

Kishida, who is on his first visit to India, is a native of Hiroshima and was appreciative of the Indian parliament observing a minute’s silence every year in memory of the victims of Hiroshima, the source said.