PM Modi’s Japan visit opportunity to review progress, chart new roadmap to boost ties: Indian envoy

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi gears up for the upcoming annual summit in Japan, Indian Ambassador to Japan Sibi George on Thursday called the visit a key opportunity to review bilateral progress and outline a new roadmap to strengthen strategic ties.

The envoy emphasised that India and Japan share not just a strong strategic partnership, but also deep-rooted civilizational and cultural connections.

In an exclusive interview with News 18, George said, “We have a civilisational connection. A cultural connection. In 2014, PM Modi and PM Abe set up India Japan strategic global partnership. Every year is covered very well in last few years. This would be an occasion to review the progress in each of these elements and come up with a new road map to take relationships forward.”

When asked about Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s proposal to invest Rs 5.95 lakh crore in India over the next decade, George underscored Japan’s crucial role in India’s economic transformation and future development goals.

“Japan has been an important partner in our economic transition. We are in a Amritkal journey. Next 25 years when we plan to become a developed country we consider Japan as the most reliable partner. 40 years ago Suzuki came to India and transformed India’s automobile sector. This kind of economic transformation in many areas happen with the engagement of Japanese companies,” the ambassador said.

George also pointed to the 2022 agreement between PM Modi and then-Japanese PM Fumio Kishida for a 5 trillion Yen (approx. Rs 2.75 lakh crore) investment over five years.

“We have reached almost 4 trillion yen worth of investment. Now we are looking for a new momentum, new investment which will be announced during this visit,” he added.

On the buzz about two leaders set to revise the joint declaration on security cooperation for the first time in 17 years, he said, “This visit will see lot of outcome document including joint statements. We have a security and defence cooperation agreement signed in 2008. It is a time to review that agreement.”

When asked about the potential for more Indians to work in Japan, given the country’s projected shortfall of nearly 790,000 advanced tech workers by 2030, Ambassador George said the current challenge lies in the scale of engagement.

“What is missing is quantum numbers. The number of Indian workers working in Japan is small. The number of students here is small. We need a quantum leap in the relationship. We have everything right but shortage of number will be addressed,” he added.

On whether the Quad will feature in discussions during PM Modi’s visit, especially with India hosting the grouping this year, Ambassador George said the Quad remains a vital component of the India-Japan strategic partnership.

“One important aspect of relationship is special strategic global partnership. Quad is most important plurilateral relationship in the Indo-Pacific. When two important leaders of Indo-Pacific meet they will discuss Quad,” he added.

Amid growing attention on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, including reports that Japan may provide E5 and E3 Shinkansen trains for trial runs, Ambassador George reaffirmed Tokyo’s pivotal role in India’s infrastructure development.

“Japan has been an important partner in infra projects, railway projects. All I can tell you is we will have train running in that corridor by 2027 . I stand by what I said,” said the ambassador.

PM Modi will embark on a two-day official visit to Japan starting August 29 for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit with Japanese PM Ishiba.

PM Modi is scheduled to depart from New Delhi tonight and arrive in Tokyo on Friday for the summit, which will focus entirely on advancing the bilateral agenda.

“This will be PM Modi’s first annual summit with his Japanese counterpart, and is first standalone visit to Japan in nearly seven years. He last visited for the annual summit in 2018,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters in New Delhi.

Highlighting the significance of the visit, Misri noted that it will mark PM Modi’s eighth trip to Japan since assuming office in 2014.

With inputs from agencies