Rajnath Singh arrives in Japan to strengthen defence ties

Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday evening (local time) arrived here on the first leg of his five-day visit to East Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, with an aim to strengthen military and defence ties with India.

"Landed in Japan today for an important bilateral visit. India and Japan share a special, strategic and global partnership," the Defence Minister said on Twitter.

"I am hopeful that this visit will lead to substantial strengthening of the bilateral defence relations between the two countries," he added.

The Defence Minister will be in Japan on September 2 and September 3 following which he will visit South Korea from September 5 and September 6 for a bilateral visit.

As part of his visit to Japan, the Minister will also co-chair the Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue with his counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, Japan's Defence Ministry spokesperson Bharat Bhushan Babu said in a media statement.

"The Ministerial Dialogue will aim to further strengthen India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and will include wide-ranging discussions to enhance the bilateral defence and security engagements between the two countries," he said.

During his visit, Singh will also call on the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

India and Japan have developed strong ties over the last five years and there is also a personal bonding between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart.

Experts feel that the two countries are also natural allies in the field of defence and security.

In South Korea, the Defence Minister will have a bilateral dialogue with his counterpart Jeong Kyeong - Doo. He will also call on the South Korean Prime MinisterLee Nak - Yon.

A CEO's Forum followed by a Business-to-Government (B2G) meeting will also be held in Seoul with the participation of members of the Defence Industry from both sides with an aim to encourage co-operation between defence Industry of India and the Republic of Korea.

India is developing strong military hardware cooperation with South Korea as the Indian Army has already inducted the K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzers built in partnership with the Indian firm Larsen and Toubro.