India, Japan pledge early conclusion of nuclear pact

India and Japan today pledged an early conclusion of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement, as the two countries reviewed their strategic partnership and progress in bilateral defence cooperation.
In a meeting here with Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Japan Ashwani Kumar, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his confidence that the proposed agreement can be concluded soon with the support of the people of both countries.
"The meeting with Foreign Minister Kishida also provided an opportunity for a high level review of the India-Japan strategic and global partnership as the two countries prepare for the visit of Japanese Emperor and Empress and the subsequent visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the Annual Summit," a Ministry of External Affairs statement said.

"The two leaders expressed full support for further deepening the unique multi-faceted relationship between India and Japan. Both sides agreed that closer economic cooperation between India and Japan was essential for Asia's continuing growth," it said.
In this context, they welcomed the recent decision to expand the bilateral currency swap arrangement to USD 50 billion, the continuing progress on the Delhi-Mumbai Freight Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor projects and the discussions on introducing a high-speed railway system in India.
Kumar also referred to the progress in bilateral defence and security cooperation including in the areas of maritime security, anti-piracy and counter-terrorism.

Continuing his high-level engagements in Tokyo following his call on Prime Minister Abe yesterday, Kumar also met a group of Japanese Parliamentarians led by Katsuyuki Kawai, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Japanese Parliament.

Abe, at a meeting with Kumar yesterday, said the process of negotiations will be taken forward in firming up the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.
Kumar, in his meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister, stressed the importance of more Japanese companies entering the dynamic Indian market and taking advantage of the DFC and DMIC projects in the infrastructure sectors.
In this context, both sides agreed on the necessity of expediting the bilateral Agreement on Social Security which would greatly benefit Japanese and Indian companies working in each other's country.

Kumar is on a three-day visit to Tokyo to carry out his mandate in his capacity as the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges with Japan and prepare for the visits of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, followed by Prime Minister Abe.