Japanese foreign minister arrives in India

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.

Kishida is in India to co-chair the 8th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Saturday.

The two foreign ministers will review all aspects of the bilateral relations between the two countries and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Kishida will begin his two-day visit by paying homage to iconic Indian freedom fighter, Mahatma Gandhi, at his memorial in New Delhi. He is then slated to meet Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Japan and India have earlier agreed to strengthen defence ties as Asia's second and third biggest economies keep a wary eye on a rising China.

Modi had visited Japan in September last year, months after he won the general elections by a landslide.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Modi had agreed to speed up talks on a so-far elusive deal on nuclear energy cooperation, welcoming what they called "significant progress" in the negotiations.

Japan has promised to give India USD 35 billion for developmental projects. The two countries also signed pacts covering areas of defence, energy, highways and healthcare among others.