JAI trilateral meeting: Leaders agree to address maritime, connectivity issues

At the first-ever Japan-America-India (JAI) trilateral meeting, which was held on the sidelines of G20 summit, the leaders of three nations agreed to work together to address maritime and connectivity issues.

At a press briefing, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, United States President Donald Trump, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the central role of ASEAN countries and exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific.

Terming the trilateral meeting as "warm," Gokhale stated that Trump and Abe complimented Prime Minister Modi for the reforms and the development work that he has done. "They all agreed that a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order is essential for the region's peace and prosperity," Gokhale stated.

Prime Minister Modi offered some ideas on how the concept of Indo-Pacific should be taken forward and how the three countries can work together to promote this concept.

Gokhale also stated that Prime Minister Modi felt that it was necessary for the three countries to reach out to all the stakeholders to explain the benefit of the Indo-Pacific strategy and their advantages to these countries.

"All three leaders felt that such meetings are useful and should continue on the margins of the subsequent G20 meetings. Overall there was a very positive atmosphere and the outcome of this first trilateral meeting among Japan-America-India has been very encouraging. Prime Minister Modi and the other two leaders were very pleased with the outcome," said Gokhale.