India, Japan Sign Defence Deals

For his part, the visiting Japanese PM said: “A strong India is good for Japan and a strong Japan is good for India”.

Speakers from Japan Against Nuclear spoke of the horrors of the Fukushima disaster and it continuing toxic fallout which is affecting not only Japan but much of the Pacific even five years after the Fukushima disaster.

To support Modis ‘Make in India initiative, Japan has created a fund of about $12 billion which will be provided to Japanese companies for manufacturing in India.

Modi, who has been looking to Tokyo to pump in capital to overhaul the country’s infrastructure, said “this enterprise will launch a revolution in India’s railways and speed up India’s journey into the future”.

“Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed his determination to improve the business environment in India”, it said. He also said: “Indo-Japanese relations will contribute to peace and prosperity in Asia and the world”. This will feed into the $35 billion that Japan had announced previous year at the annual summit as ODA for Japanese public and private investments in India.

Modi said as India and Japan will “shape an Asian century in our vision and values” as they realise Vision 2025 of their ties.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the visit was aimed at “strengthening cooperation in a wide range of fields including politics, security, economic cooperation and exchange of people”.

“This builds on our decision to expand staff talks to all three wings of the Armed Forces and make Japan a partner in Malabar Naval Exercises”, he added.

Modi and Abe enjoy an unusually close friendship that pre-dates the Indian leader’s election previous year.

“We will also strive for our rightful place in a reformed UN Security Council”.

Said Modi, “No friend will matter more in realizing India’s economic dreams than Japan”. Modi explained this will be different from the electronic visa facility extended globally. In a world of intense global engagements, few visits are truly historic or change the course of a relationship.

Apparently, the Indian side gave assurances to Japan’s strong non-proliferation lobby to expedite the deal, the Japanese preferred to play safe and sought time for Prime Minister Abe to convince the Japanese parliament on the assurances.

Mr. Yasuhisha told The Hindu that defence ties with India are now “fundamentally important” to Japan and that India’s flagship “Make in India” programme also will benefit from defence co-production plans. The agreement paves way for Japan to participate in India’s civil nuclear sector by making components for India’s nuclear reactors.

He said that Japan does not see India moving away from its self imposed moratorium on nuclear tests and worldwide commitments.

Prime Minister Abe expressed Japan’s intention to provide ODA loans for the improvement of road network connectivity in northeastern states of India, the peripheral ring road surrounding Bengaluru, and the horticulture irrigation in Jharkhand.

A joint statement issued after the two leaders met said the agreement will be signed after more details are finalized.

“The two Prime Ministers welcome the agreement reached between the two governments on the agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy”, the MoU states.

The fundamental structure of the this agreement is solid, he asserted.

He said the bilateral meeting lasted for almost an hour and today was the beginning of the new year for both countries.

On terrorism, both leaders called upon all countries to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 and other relevant resolutions designating terrorist entities.